Watch us Shine
by QuietlyScreaming
Summary: Covering the life of our favorite Zombie/Human couple as they navigate through Senior year, college, and life thereafter. Rated T-M.
1. Chapter 61: Aloha (part 2)

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** PLEASE READ THE A/N AT THE END! This chapter is rated M.**

* * *

**(formerly) OUR YEAR: Chapter 61**

**SPRING BREAK**

**ALOHA **

**part 2**

When Zed and Eliza pulled back into the driveway, the Benz and Maserati were still gone.

"Well..." Eliza said hopping out of the car. "Looks like we're still on our own."

A wide smile spread across Zed's face. "That's actually perfect."

"Really?"

"Yeah...I have an idea, but I'm going to need your help."

Eliza rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "Let me guess, it's cheesy and romantic, and it's going to make me want to vomit?"

"Of course!"

"You're lucky I love you."

"Love you too, E," he whispered hugging her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah...enough of that...Now, what is it you've got planned?"

* * *

As Zed and Eliza put the finishing touches on his surprise for Addison, they heard voices coming from outside.

"Sounds like they're back," Eliza smiled, nudging Zed with her elbow.

He panicked slightly, shoving everything into the picnic basket they had found in the pantry.

"I've got this, Z. Go see her."

Zed let out a sigh of relief. "You're the best, E."

"I know...now go!"

He pulled her in for a quick hug before running out of the kitchen towards the front door just as it opened.

"Hey, everyone," he greeted.

Dale grumbled as he walked in heading straight towards the stairs. Bucky came through the door next.

"Hey man," he said tiredly, giving him a bro hug. "What. A. Day."

"Is everything…..?"

"It's all over...not how I could have ever imagined, but...it's all good."

Trevor and Kitty both walked in on their phones, greeting him in passing."

"Where's E?" Bucky asked.

"Kitchen."

"Thanks," he said, walking towards the back of the house to see her.

Addison and Missy were the last two to walk into the house.

"You are a sight for sore eyes," Addison smiled, hugging onto him the second she saw him. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Beautiful," he whispered, running his hand through her snow-white hair.

"Addison, I'm going to go talk to your father," Missy said as she hugged them both. "Don't worry about him, okay."

"Thanks, Mom."

As Missy began to climb the stairs, Zed looked back to Addison. "What's wrong with your Dad?"

"He's a little disappointed at the moment."

"Why? What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now," she said letting out a large yawn. "I'm so tired. I just want to go lay down." She took his hand and led him over to the couch. "This will work."

"Wouldn't you rather a bed?"

She nodded her head, yawning again. "Yeah, but I don't want to nap in the guest house right now."

"Sweetie, you still have your room upstairs," Missy said as she walked back in the room. "You could always nap in there."

Addison shrugged. "Thanks, Mom. I think I will," she looked over to Zed. "Want to come tuck me in?"

"Of course, Gorgeous," he smiled. "Lead the way."

She stood back up and pulled him over to the stairs, walking up to the second floor.

When she opened the door, Zed let out a small laugh."Wow..." he said as they walked into the pastel pink room.

"I told you it was way too Seabrook," she smiled walking over to the bed. "Any chance I can talk you into taking a nap with me?"

"Do you think your Mom would be okay with that?"

"Honestly, I don't care right now. I've had a really emotional day and I just want to lay down with you and fall asleep. And yes, I mean actually sleep. I'm exhausted."

"How could I ever tell you no?" he whispered.

"Then don't," she smiled, holding out her hands for him to join her.

* * *

The sun was low in the sky when Addison finally began to stir. As she blinked her eyes open, she was met with Zed's smiling face.

"There's my favorite cheerleader," he whispered, as he leaned down to brush a soft kiss against her lips.

"My favorite zombie."

"How was your nap?"

She stretched her legs out as she let out a small yawn. "Just what I needed." Her stomach rumbled, making her giggle. "And I guess food is what I need now."

Zed shook his head and smiled as he helped her up out of bed. When they reached the bottom step Addison looked around, puzzled by the silence.

"Um...Where is everyone?"

"They went over to the resort for a farewell dinner."

"They went to get food without us?!"

Zed smiled and placed a soft kiss on her head. "Everyone figured you needed the rest."

"I need food too! I'm starving. Do you know what they brought in for lunch?"

"No, what?"

"I don't know either. Because I didn't get anything!"

"Well," he said, spinning her around in a smooth dance move, "it's a good thing I made dinner for us."

"You did?"

"I did...it's not much...but I think you'll like it."

"I'll love it because you made it."

"Such the smooth talker," he winked.

Addison shrugged nonchalantly. "What can I say, I learned from the best."

Zed laughed and placed a kiss on her hand before lacing his fingers with hers. "Follow me."

They walked out the door and across the patio to a set of flagstone steps that led them down to the beach. With the setting sun as a backdrop, Addison could see a large blanket spread out on top of the sand, a picnic basket, and champagne. Her eyes went from the set-up to the smiling man before her as she realized the efforts he went to make their final evening in paradise romantic and memorable.

"When did you...?"

Zed smiled even wider. "Before you got home…. I may have had Eliza set it up though. Do you like it?"

"I love it."

"Good, because I love you," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her softly before taking her by the hand over to the blanket.

They sat down, and she flipped off her flip flops, laying back on the soft blanket, staring up at the sky, finally feeling content after a long day of turmoil. "I'm sorry our trip ended this way."

She sat back up and he handed her a glass of champagne. "You have nothing to apologize for." He took a deep breath to calm himself down before he continued. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She laid back down, placing her head on his shoulder. "I want to tell you. I, uh, I just...I don't want you disappointed in me, too."

Zed slid his fingers down the palm of her hand and intertwined them with hers once again. "I won't be."

Addison sighed heavily, watching as the sun began to set into the ocean. She was silent for a few moments before she began. "I didn't press charges.'

"What?"

"I was too worried that if I did, he would somehow turn it around and say that you attacked him without your Z-Ring. I just couldn't risk it." Her voice cracked as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Addie..." he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "I told you not to worry about me. This was about you, and what he did and tried to do to you."

She wiped at her eyes. "I know. But when it came down to it, I didn't want to have to deal with a trial, or courts or having to ever re-live any of this ever again. I just wanted him out of our lives." She placed a soft kiss on his shoulder and looked up at him. "So...with the help of the entire Tordjman, Inc. legal team that my Uncle so graciously made available, we struck a deal."

"You did?"

Addison nodded. "After Graham serves his mandatory sentence of one year for assault against a police officer, he'll have to complete a mandatory six-month rehab program. The judge also granted restraining orders against him for me, you, Bucky, Eliza, and our families. And..." she finished off her champagne before continuing. "All their family assets in Hawaii, the house, the boats, now belong to me."

"Woah..."

Addison let out a soft laugh. "That's the same reaction my Mom and Uncle had. In fact, Uncle Trevor was so impressed with my negotiating skills that he's already asked if I want to intern for him in college."

Zed laughed and kissed her head.

"So, what exactly are you going to do with two houses down here?"

"Oh, I'm sure Bucky will tell you all about it."

He gave her a questioning look.

"Well, I certainly don't need another house. And since my cousin did break his hand punching his former best friend...and Uncle Trevor provided all the lawyers..."

"Addison, dear, did you give your cousin the other house?"

She shrugged and smiled. "It seemed like the right thing to do. Plus it has a recording studio in it. I'm sure Eliza will love it."

"Gorgeous, you never cease to amaze me."

"Okay, enough of all the drama. I'm done with it. I don't want to waste our last night here on this anymore."

He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "But if you need to talk, I'm here."

"I'd rather kiss you," she whispered before kissing him with all the pent up need that had been building all day. She jumped on top of him and kissed him feverishly, pinning him down and continuing her kissing tirade of his body until her stomach growled. It growled so loudly that they both -lips still attached- opened their eyes and looked at each other. She slowly lifted up and he propped up on his elbows. "I want you, too, Addie, but we should eat."

"If we must," she sighed, disappointed.

After she settled down onto the blanket next to him again, he pulled a container of cut-up pineapple out of the basket. "Don't worry, we have all night and I'll make the wait worth your while. Can I feed you?" he asked, eyebrow raised in anticipation.

"Sure," she smiled looking up at him through her lashes.

Zed moved closer as he picked up the first piece of fruit and brought it to her mouth. With a smile, he said, "Open wide, beautiful."

She slowly opened her mouth wide, waiting for the fruit. His eyes and expression turned lusty and he paused as he stared at her open, waiting mouth. She lifted her eyebrows and encouraged him forward. He set the pineapple lightly on her tongue and she closed her mouth around the fruit and his fingers. His fingers lingered and then he slowly pulled them out and sucked them into his own mouth seductively one finger at a time.

Watching him stirred her innermost desires. "I want you," she said, letting her desires take over. Without a second thought of someone seeing them there, she jumped on top of him, knocking the bowl of pineapple over. He flipped her down on to her back and straddled her while attacking her mouth with wet kisses.

They grabbed at each other's clothes, pulling and tugging until their shirts were off. Never looking down, his hands unbuttoned her shorts as he roughly pulled at them with one hand. She lifted up and using both his hands, he took the sides of her underwear and yanked them off. He removed his swim trunks and tossed them carelessly away from them. When he dropped down on top of her, her legs instantly spread wider. She gasped at the sensation as he rubbed his length firmly against her, hitting the perfect spot.

"Gorgeous..." His voice trailed off as he lightly bit down on one of her breasts. Suddenly, he looked up with a mischievous smile. "Addie...I'm hungry." His words sounded more like a moan than a request.

She lifted up and looked at him, confused. "What?"

"I'm hungry," he said as a piece of pineapple appeared in front of her face. He held his hand steady as her eyes flickered between him and the pineapple.

"I thought we had decided to wait on the food?" she giggled, signaling to their naked bodies.

He cocked his head to the side and licked his lips. "I'm going to eat...you."

"Oh!" She dropped back down onto the blanket and waved him onward. "I'd like that, too. Yes, you should definitely eat."

His body moved down hers and she jerked when she felt something cold against her most sensitive spot. Bolting upright, she could see and feel him rub a piece of pineapple on her. "Um...Zed...Oh dear lord," is all she managed to say before falling back and enjoying his tongue maneuvering on her. She looked over to her side and saw his hand groping at the blanket in search for more of the Hawaiian fruit, but with no luck. Addison grabbed the bowl and put it in his reach, encouraging him on.

He chuckled against her wet insides, resulting in even more pleasure. Her hands went to his head, gently holding his face to her, as she chanted his name over and over.

She closed her eyes, lost in the sensation. His tongue and fingers working her over in opposite motions, making her eyes roll back into her head. The ocean, the breeze, the pineapple, Zed, it was all too much. His fingers entered as his teeth grazed across her sensitive nub, and she lost it. With a gasp and the calling of his name, she held his head tightly to her as his tongue made one final lap around her before she relaxed into the blanket.

Looking up, he rested his chin on her pelvis and smiled at her.

"Promise me you'll do that again. That was in-cred-ible," she said, enunciating every syllable for extra emphasis.

"I think honeydew are in season back home," he whispered, causing them both to burst into laughter.

He climbed up her body, hovering over her, and kissed her. It was tender and loving, igniting a fire inside her once more.

The sun had disappeared into the horizon and when she turned back, Zed kissed her again. The taste of pineapple, him, and her commingling in his mouth drawing a moan from her. She ran her nails lightly down his back. "I need you...but I think I need to rinse off first," she giggled, the stickiness from the pineapple finally being felt.

He popped up and took her by the hand, helping her to her feet and leading her into the water until they were waist deep.

His hands held her as the came together and kissed. This time much slower and tender. She let her hands explore, skimming over every taut muscle and defined feature of his strong back. His hands started their own exploration and graced down her sides to cup her backside. He pulled her up, holding her body tightly to his. His erection solid and ready, making her moan into his mouth again. He picked her up as she wrapped her legs quickly around him. They stumbled to the shore, falling forward as a wave crashed against them, but he caught their fall with his hands.

With the water surrounding them as the tide came in softly then glided back out, he licked the water droplets on her stomach, before crawling up her body. Addison bit her lip in anticipation. Her breathing deepening as he covered her, skin against bare skin, on the sand, in the water, in paradise.

She ran a hand through his wet hair. "Please, Zed. I need you so much."

He smiled as he ran his hands from her elbows towards her wrists and pulled them above her head, pressing them into the sand as he entered her. She gasped at the fullness, reminding her of everything she had been missing all day. He filled her completely as he pushed himself as deep as he could go.

"I missed you," he said, verbalizing her sentiments.

Their fingers intertwined and he used the leverage to move quickly in and out. The frenzy deep inside beginning to twist and build. She squeezed him with her legs, sand grating between them, and moved against him, needing more of everything.

Their bodies moved erratically as he dropped his head against her forehead. He released her and pounded his hand solidly into the sand, leaving it there for balance. His other hand running down her cheek tenderly.

With jagged breaths, they looked into each other's eyes as she held him to her with her legs. Leaving her cheek, he lowered his hand to her flaming center, awakening her whole body. "Oh, Zed, I'm yours, always," she rushed out, as she shattered underneath him.

He leaned down and attacked her mouth with his tongue. "Always." His orgasm hit any unshattered nerve that remained in her body, making her twitch with pleasure.

They collapsed, laying there in the sand with no will to move. She turned to look at him, but his eyes were closed, exhausted from the activity. The water surrounded her body one last time before she sat up. He did the same though no words were spoken. She moved closer to him, curling into his side and placed a soft kiss on his chest.

As they gazed out at the moon reflecting on the water, Addison let out a content sigh. "This is how I want to remember this trip," she whispered. "Just you, me, and how amazing life can be when you're happy and in love."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** And so concludes their Spring Break trip to Hawaii. Thank you so much for sticking with me on this wild crazy ****ride! Next up: Back to Seabrook and school!**

**So I guess it's much-abbreviated explanation time… Way long story short, I lost my anonymity under my previous pen name and no longer feel comfortable posting updates using it. I was heartbroken by the out of the blue complete violation of privacy and trust. For a while, I wasn't sure if I even had it in me to continue to write. But, as the days went on it was driving me crazy that I couldn't finish this story. I had so much left to tell. And so was born the new title and pen name. Thank you so much to everyone who sent me encouraging messages. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story. **

**For those of you who just stumbled upon this story first, please feel free to go and read the first 60 chapters (Our Year, by Caps1031)**

**Also, new IG account to go along with all the changes: _ by_quietlyscreaming_**


	2. Chapter 62: Ooh I've Got A Feeling

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** One year ago today I started this story. I didn't know if anyone was going to read it, enjoy it, review it, etc. I had ****ZERO expectations. Fast forward a year… 62 chapters, 366 reviews, countless PMs, Instagram messages, etc...all I can say is THANK YOU!**

* * *

**Chapter 62**

**OOH I'VE GOT A FEELING**

MONDAY

Zed had been waiting on the front porch for almost ten minutes before Addison finally came outside.

"I'm sorry," she said yawning. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "I just couldn't wake up this morning. Between traveling all day yesterday and then the time-zone change..."

Zed yawned as well. "S'okay...E fell asleep on Bonzo while we were driving over here," he said sleepily as they walked towards the car. As he reached down to open the passenger side door for her, she stopped him.

"Z..."

"What's up, Gorgeous?"

"Can you see the bruises? I really don't want to have to explain them to anyone."

He softly smiled before taking her face gently in his hands, carefully turning her head side to side. "Nope. Looks like that make up your Aunt gave you worked."

She let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. My normal concealer wasn't cutting it. I know I'm going to have to reapply at some point today. Please let me know if they start to show through."

"I will." He kissed the top of her head and opened the car door.

When they pulled up to Bree's house a few minutes later, she was already outside bouncing from foot to foot with excitement. "Soooo...How was Hawaii!" she exclaimed before she had even closed the car door.

Addison yawned again. "That's a long story...I promise I'll tell you everything, but first I need some coffee."

Zed looked down at the clock on the dash. "We don't have time to go into Dream Bean this morning, but we probably have just enough to hit the drive-thru."

"Fine by me," she yawned. "I just need coffee… and maybe a muffin...ooh even better, a scone. I'm starving. And on top of that, Mom and Dad were still asleep when I left, so I didn't even have my usual pre-coffee, coffee."

"I'll let the trip recap slide for now, but I expect a full run down once you're fully caffeinated and fed!" Bree said with a smile as they started to drive.

Ten minutes later Zed was handing out everyone's orders as they came through the window. Addison happily took hers and inhaled deeply, smiling from the comforting aroma.

"Oh, sweet caffeine...How I need you so today," she whispered to her cup before taking a sip. Her nose scrunched up when she swallowed.

"You alright over there?" Zed chuckled.

"I miss Kona coffee already."

"Well, it's a good thing you ordered a case of it before we left."

Addison let out a soft laugh. "Should be delivered sometime this week!"

"Well thank goodness for that," he smiled, as he leaned over to kiss her cheek before driving off.

They pulled into the student parking lot just as the first bell rang. Addison sighed heavily as she grabbed her backpack and opened the passenger side door. "Sooo tired!"

Zed shook his head in agreement. "Want to nap in the safe room during free period?"

"I can't. I have prom committee meetings starting today. How about during lunch?"

"Oh no, you don't!" Bree said squeezing in between them. "I haven't seen or talked to you since you two snuck out of the fundraiser dinner. We're catching up!"

Addison shook her head and smiled. "That dinner feels like forever ago...fun times."

"That's an understatement," Zed smiled, throwing her a wink.

"See! I don't even know what you two are talking about! I mean...I can imagine, but still! We need to catch up!"

"Easy there, Bree," Addison giggled before looking up to Zed. "Looks like I'm going to need a rain-check."

* * *

"Longest. Day. EVER..." Eliza groaned as she sat down at their table in the cafeteria. "I so should have stayed at Bucky's last night and spent today sleeping."

"Speaking of Bucky," Zed said around the bite of pizza he had just taken. "How's the hand today?"

Eliza shrugged. "Don't know. He's still asleep...lucky."

"Zuig ge hiz?"

Zed shook his head and took a calming breath in through his nose. "Very long story short, he broke it."

"Zougz zonat azigud..."

"That would be an understatement. You missed a whole lot more than a broken hand. But...I'm not talking about it right now. I'll fill you in when we're out of school."

"Zookay…."

"Trust me, Bonz...you'll understand later," Eliza said before changing the subject. "So, how was Colorado?"

"Zoog, zugrezy zoog...noz zatiz mazni conzilig fezeurug..."

"Dude, you were on Spring Break. What kind of big decision could you have made while falling down a mountain?"

"Prizmum ego noz zagere..."

"Fall, ski...same thing. But sorry, continue..."

"Zon zertum ag VRU."

"Seriously?" Zed said in disbelief. "Bonz...What happened to waiting to see if Shoreline U offered her a scholarship after the cheer clinic?"

"Zuog doztriga azzeptatio goz zeptimaga."

"So she has to let them know BEFORE the clinic at the end of the month."

Bonzo shook his head.

"I can't believe we won't all be going to school together next year," Eliza whispered.

"Or seeing each other every day," Zed added looking up at him. "Or only being a block away from each other… When is Bree planning on telling Addie?"

"Zunc."

Zed sighed. "I should probably go find her. Make sure she's okay." He stood up and clapped Bonzo on the shoulder before heading to the cheer room.

* * *

Addison had been the first to arrive in the cheer room for lunch. As she sat on one of the pink couches she closed her eyes and exhaled, enjoying the silence. It had been a rough day so far. She was tired, hungry, and had a headache. With a huff, she opened her eyes and grabbed her purse.

"What are you looking for?" Bree asked a few minutes later as she walked in. Addison was elbow deep in her backpack, rummaging around for something.

"Tylenol...I've had a headache since before Chem...I thought I had some in my purse, but I didn't."

Bree opened her bag and grabbed a small bottle out. "Here," she called out as she tossed them to her.

"You're a lifesaver," Addison smiled.

"I know!" she giggled, sitting on the pink couch next to her. "So...spill...how was Hawaii?"

Addison sighed. "Why don't you start."

"Well if you insist! Colorado was Ah. Mazing! We skied, we snowboarded, we didn't snuggle by the fire for obvious reasons, but Bonz kept me warm...And oh my goodness, I wish you could have seen him when we first got to the slopes and he had to take the bunny hill...So much cuteness! Wait! I have pictures!" Bree pulled out her phone and started scrolling through until she found the picture of Bonzo surrounded by small children learning how to ski. When she handed the phone over she gasped and grabbed Addison's hand, examining the rose gold plumeria ring on her left ring finger. "I know I've said this before, but I swear to God if you two got engaged, or worse, married, without me…."

Addison laughed. "Bree, relax...it's a promise ring. Although technically we are married in the Hawaiian culture."

Bree shook her head. "My trip can wait. Spill the deets, sis!"

"One condition..."

"Name it."

"No matter what I tell you, you don't freak out and you let me finish."

"I feel like I should be getting popcorn."

Addison shook her head and smiled. "You have no idea." With a deep breath, she began to fill her in on everything that had happened while they were in Hawaii. From dropping the bombshell that she, in fact, owned a house in Hawaii to their incredibly romantic final evening on the beach, she recounted everything, even the worst parts. When she was finally finished she looked over to Bree. "I can't believe you didn't jump in with like a hundred questions!"

"Give me a minute. I think I'm still in shock…That was a whole heck of a lot… Wow…" She shook her head to clear it. "First off, are you okay?"

Addison nodded her head.

"Good. Wow..."

"I know."

Bree looked at Addison's face. "You can't even see the bruises."

"That would be because of the pound of makeup I have covering them...Speaking of which..." Addison grabbed her purse and pulled out the makeup compact. She opened it and looked closely, lightly touching up a few spots. "There...that should hold for a few more hours."

Bree continued to sit there in silence. Without warning, she threw her arms around Addison and hugged her as tight as she could. "I know you're fine right now, but if you need to talk about it, ever, I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Bree….But enough about all that. Finish telling me about Colorado!"

Bree sat back up and sighed. "I think the rest needs to wait."

Just as Addison was about to push further, the door to the cheer room opened. "Z!"

"Hey, just checking to see how everything was going in here..." he said cautiously from the door.

Addison let out a sigh. "I just finished telling Bree everything."

"Everything? Everything?"

"I sure hope that was everything!" Bree exclaimed. "That was enough drama for a lifetime, much less a week-long vacation."

Zed chuckled and walked further into the room, sitting down on the floor in front of them. "That's for sure...So… I just talked to Bonzo about Colorado."

Bree's eyes grew larger and she shook her head no. Zed nodded in understanding.

* * *

TUESDAY

Tuesday morning didn't go much better. They had barely made it to school before the bell. By the time they all walked into Chemistry class, Addison could barely keep her eyes open. Every few minutes Zed would have to lean over to wake her up. Eventually, he gave up and just let her sleep, making sure he took meticulous notes so she wouldn't fall behind. When the bell finally rang, Zed nudged her shoulder.

"Hey, Gorgeous...class is over."

Addison's eyes fluttered open. "What?"

"You fell asleep."

She sat straight up in a panic. "Oh my god! I didn't mean to! What did I miss?!"

"Relax, I took very detailed notes. I'll copy them for you later so you can do the homework."

She let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you.

Sorry, I fell asleep."

Zed leaned over and kissed her cheek. "It happens to everyone. Come on, we've got to get you to English."

"I really just want to go back to sleep. I was having the best dream...Maybe I can show you in the safe room at lunch" she giggled as she picked up her backpack and stood up. "Woah..." she said as she quickly grabbed onto Zed's arm for support.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, …just dizzy all of a sudden."

"Do you need to sit back down?"

She shook her head no. "I think I'm okay. I just stood up too fast."

"Are you sure? I don't mind sitting back down with you for a few minutes to be safe."

"I'll be fine, Handsome." She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek.

Zed let out a soft laugh. "I'll make you a deal..."

"What?" she asked looking up at him.

"How about instead of you showing me what you were dreaming about, we nap instead?"

Addison pondered his suggestion for a moment before smiling. "I don't think I'm quite that tired."

Zed laughed as he took her hand in his and began to walk out the door towards her next class. He made it to his History class right after the bell rang, quietly slipping into the back of the room while the teacher was facing the board.

Bree giggled under her breath as he took his seat. "Finally get Addie to wake up?"

Zed shook his head and smiled. "Yeah...She needed the sleep though...Speaking of Addison..." he dropped his whisper even lower. "When are you planning on telling her about next year?"

She let out a heavy sigh. "I was going to tell her yesterday, but then I heard everything that happened...I should really just tell her. Do you think she's going to be upset?"

Zed let out a soft laugh. "This is Addison we're talking about. I mean, sure she's going to be a little sad you won't be living with us. But she's also going to be super happy for you and she's going to instantly come up with a plan so you two can talk all the time."

"You're right. I'll tell her today."

"Thank you! This secret has been killing me."

"Mr. Necrodopolus, Ms. Jeffery!" Their teacher called out. "Is my lecture interrupting your conversation?"

"No, sir..." They both said in unison.

* * *

When history class was finally over, Zed made his way over to the safe room. To his surprise, Addison wasn't in there yet.

A few minutes later the door finally opened.

"There's my favorite cheerleader," Zed smiled as he pulled her in for a hug.

"My favorite Zombie," she whispered, melting into his embrace. She yawned loudly against his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I know I'm late...I may have fallen asleep again."

"Addie, you're dead on your feet...and that's coming from the Zombie," he teased. "Come here," he pulled her over towards one of the cots and laid down, wrapping his arms around her. "You definitely need a nap."

Addison let out another loud yawn. "I'm too tired to even fight this," she smiled sleepily.

"Good, then don't," he whispered placing a kiss on top of her head. He softly started to hum someday while gently running his fingers through her hair. Before he knew it, she was fast asleep.

* * *

WEDNESDAY

When the bell rang for lunch Zed grabbed his backpack and happily took off down the hall towards the lockers to meet Addison. Between getting to school with barely a second to spare all week, Addison having prom committee meetings during their free period, cheer, baseball, and residual jet-lag, they had barely had a moment alone together that didn't involve snoring. As he approached her locker, he stopped as he watched her slam it closed as hard as she could.

"Woah...What's wrong?"

Addison spun around. "I'll tell you what's wrong! Principal Lee wants to attend the prom committee meeting! But she has a meeting when we normally meet, so now we have to meet at lunch! And of course we're going to spend the entire time recapping what we've already gone over, so we're going to have to meet at our normal time as well just so we can stay on schedule!"

"Deep breaths, Gorgeous."

"All I want to do is spend some alone time with my boyfriend like I had planned! I mean really...is that asking too much?! But, noooooo…."

Zed smiled. "Well, technically we shouldn't be meeting in the safe room to do anything much less what we were planning..."

Addison narrowed her eyes and glared at him.

"OooK! Time to feed the human."

"Don't you go quoting Twilight on me, buster. Besides, I have to go plan a prom now!"

"You definitely need to eat."

"I definitely need something else! It's been DAYS!"

Zed shook his head and smiled, pulling her in for a hug. "I miss being with you too, and I know you need to go to the meeting, but food first. Please."

Addison took a calming breath as she melted into his chest. "Am I that moody?"

"Maybe a little," he teased, kissing the top of her head.

She sighed heavily. "Fine...but I'm grabbing something quick!"

"Fine by me, Beautiful," he smiled as he draped his arm around her shoulder and walked towards the cafeteria. When they walked in, he spun her around in a smooth dance move. "So...what are we feeling like?"

"Hmm..." she said evaluating the lines. "Whatever they're serving in that one. It's the shortest."

"That's because it's hamburgers and fries. No one likes the burgers. Are you sure?"

Addison cringed. "Maybe I'll just get the fries."

Zed shook his head and smiled. "Whatever you want," he said as he walked with her to the line.

The moment Addison was handed her food, her nose scrunched up. "Z..."

"What's up?" he asked, already popping a french fry into his mouth. "Woah...you don't look so hot."

"Thanks...Can you take the ketch...oh god..." She quickly handed him her tray before covering her mouth and running towards the exit.

Zed dropped their food onto the closest table and took off after her. "Addie!" he called out as he walked into the women's bathroom covering his eyes.

"You can't be in here! This is the ladies room!"

He uncovered his eyes and rolled them. "Oh, bite me, Morgan," he said as walked past her towards the stalls.

"She better not!" Addison called out. "I'm the only one who gets to do that...bad enough she's already had her mouth on you..." she mumbled.

Zed shook his head and laughed. "How are you doing in there?"

Addison stood up and unlocked the door. "I'm minus my cinnamon scone from breakfast, but other than that...better."

He pulled her in for a hug and kissed the top of her head. "Ketchup again?"

"Ugh...please don't even say it."

Zed smiled. "Noted. Oh, and no cheer practice this afternoon."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You need to get some more sleep."

"Last time I checked, that wasn't your decision to make. You're just as far behind on sleep as I am. Are you skipping baseball?"

"Nope."

"That doesn't seem very fair."

"Well, the last time I checked, I wasn't getting dizzy, moody, and throwing up. I don't want you getting sick again."

Addison sighed dramatically. "Fine."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," she mumbled begrudgingly. "Now let go of me so I can go rinse my mouth and reapply the pancake batter my Aunt calls makeup."

Zed just smiled. "Yes, ma'am."

"Darn right," she giggled. "I really want to kiss you right now, but you know..." she motioned towards her mouth. "The whole throwing up thing."

"Yeah...rinse first, then kiss."

Addison giggled and bent over the sink to rinse her mouth.

"Excuse me...still the ladies room..." Morgan said, tapping her foot in aggravation. "I could have you both written up you know."

Addison stood up straight and glared at her. A low growl escaped from her lips.

"OK!" Zed said quickly, picking Addison up. "We'll be leaving now!" Once they were back out into the hallway and a safe distance away, he set her back down. "Want to talk about all that?"

"All what?"

"You going all growly on Morgan back there? Since when do you let her get to you?"

"Since she's always flirting with you!" Addison snapped back.

Zed ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Addie, she was not flirting. She was just reminding us, in her own aggravating way, that I was violating a pretty major school rule back there...I think you should call it a day."

"I can't...I have to go to the prom committee meeting that I'm already late for!" She pushed past Zed and started walking towards the conference room.

Zed sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I love you!" he called out after her.

Addison turned around and smiled. Running back to him she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. "I'm sorry...I love you too."

"S'okay," he whispered against her lips. "Now get going before you're any later."

She smacked a loud kiss on his cheek and smiled before running off to her meeting.

* * *

After filling her in on everything they had come up with so far, Principal Lee signed off on their 80's themed prom, promising them lots of pictures from her own prom to use as inspiration. After she left, the committee got back to work brainstorming ideas for music and décor. When the bell ending free period rang, they were all satisfied with the progress they were making.

"Hey Bree," Addison said as they gathered their bags to leave. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure! What's up?"

"Would you mind running practice today? Zed's making me go home."

"Still tired?" Bree asked with a knowing smile.

Right on cue, she yawned wide. "Mmhmm."

"Not a problem. I've gotcha covered."

"Thanks, Bree," Addison said as she pulled her in for a hug. "What would I do without you?"

"Addie...we need to talk about something," Bree said nervously as she pulled back.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah… No..." she sighed in frustration. "We should probably go up to the cheer room."

"Bree...this sounds serious..."

"Yeah, I

just..."

Addison held her hands up. "I get it, let's get out of here," she smiled.

When they got to the cheer room, they both dropped their bags and made their way over to the larger of the pink couches.

"So..." Addison said as she tucked her legs underneath her. "What's up?"

Bree took a deep breath. "Bonz and I made a pretty big decision while we were in Colorado."

"OMG! You're getting married!"

Bree threw her head back and laughed. "Oh please, everyone knows you and Zed will be the first ones down the aisle."

Addison giggled and shrugged. "Alright, I give up. What did you decide?"

"We're going to VRU in the fall."

Addison was silent for a moment before she threw her arms around Bree and hugged her tight. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!"

"You are?" Bree whispered as she wiped at a stray tear rolling down her cheek.

Addison pulled back and nodded her head, quickly wiping away a tear of her own. "Of course! I mean, I'm going to miss you like crazy! But, we'll still see each other during breaks, and we can video chat, and we can text, and…" she wiped another tear away and took a deep breath. "You'll always be my best friend, no matter how far apart we are."

"Promise?"

"I promise!... Does Zed know?"

Bree nodded her head. "Bonzo told him Monday."

"He knew and didn't tell me?"

"I asked him not too. I wanted you to hear it from me. I was going to tell you Monday, but..."

"But I unloaded everything on you...That's why Zed came in to check on me..."

Bree nodded again. "Sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Addison said as she stood up wiping her eyes again. "Now come on, we're going to be late for class," she smiled, holding out a hand for Bree.

After parting ways with Bree outside the cheer room, she could feel her chest start to tighten. Without a second thought, she took off in the opposite direction towards the safe room. The second the heavy door closed behind her, the tears began to fall. She pulled out her phone and quickly sent a text to Zed. Within minutes the door flew open and he was running to her side, pulling her into a tight hug. "Shhh...it's okay," he whispered, smoothing her hair.

"No, it's not! Bree's not going to SLU! I'm losing my best friend!"

"I know exactly how you feel."

"No, you don't!….Oh wait, you do," she sniffled sadly.

"Just because they're going to a different school doesn't mean we're losing them."

Addison nodded her head and sniffled. "I know...That's exactly what I told Bree...It's just...I'm just a little overwhelmed right now."

"I know. It's been a pretty emotional week."

"Understatement," she mumbled against his shoulder.

Zed smiled and kissed the top of her head as she let out a loud yawn. "I'm bringing you home."

"But I have class..."

"Addie..."

"But you have class..."

"Don't fight me on this."

Addison sighed. "Fine. I'm too tired to anyway."

"Good. Come on."

* * *

As they pulled up to her house, Addison sighed in frustration. "Well there goes my plan," she mumbled pointing to her mom's car in the driveway. "She's not supposed to be home until later tonight."

Zed leaned over and kissed her softly. "Probably for the best. I have to get back to school for a test in my last period and then I have baseball, and you really need to get some sleep."

"After baseball?" she asked hopefully.

"Sorry, not tonight. I'm picking Zoey and Zena up from cheer while Pops goes to the city council meeting and then brings Gloria out to dinner."

Addison ran her hand down the side of his face before kissing him again. "I miss having you all to myself."

"I miss you too," he whispered against her lips. "But you know what...We've got Spring Orientation this weekend."

"But we'll be staying in the dorms," she whined.

"Not the whole time," he whispered, throwing her a wink.

She giggled and kissed him again. "I can't wait."

"Me either, Gorgeous….Now go get some sleep. I'll call you after practice."

"I love you, Zed."

"I love you, too, Addison."

She pulled him in for one more kiss before opening the door and walking up to her house.

As she walked into the den, Missy was just walking out of her home office. "Hey, Mom! What are you doing home?"

"Addison, dear! I could be asking you the same thing. Shouldn't you be at school? And what about cheer?"

"I wasn't feeling well so Zed drove me home."

Missy held the back of her hand against Addison's forehead. "You aren't warm...I was actually just on my way back to the office. I needed to grab a file for this evenings city council meeting. But if you're ill I can always stay."

"I'll be fine. I'm just really tired."

Missy hugged her and ran her fingers through her hair comfortingly. "Well go take a nap, sweetheart. Your father should be home around six. Oh! And if you're feeling better later this evening can you please finish unpacking? I'd really like to finish with all the vacation laundry and get the luggage put away."

"Sure thing, Mom."

Missy hugged her once more. "Call me if you need anything."

"Will do," she said as she walked towards the stairs. When she reached her room, she plopped down onto her bed and closed her eyes willing herself to fall asleep. After what felt like an eternity, she rolled her head over to the side to glance at the clock...it had only been five minutes. She sat up and sighed in frustration. Out the corner of her eye, she noticed her suitcase. "Well...no time like the present," she said to herself as she got up and wheeled the heavy bag over. She heaved it onto her bed and unzipped it, and began to put everything where it needed to be. When the clothes and shoes had all been taken care of, she grabbed her train-case and walked into the bathroom to unpack it.

When she reached the bottom of the bag, she picked up an unopened blue box and stopped. She slowly walked over and sat on the bathroom counter, never taking her eyes off the box in her hand. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she started to count in her head. After the third time, she set the box down and hopped off. She walked back into her bedroom and to her nightstand, opening the drawer. She pulled out a small circular case and popped it open, counting the empty spaces. Very calmly she put the case back in the drawer and closed it. She sat down on the edge of her bed and reached for her phone.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** I want to start by apologizing that this chapter was all over the place. I had a terrible time writing it, but it needed to be done. Secondly...sorry for the cliffy! **

**Thank you so much to everyone who is sticking with this story. I know it's been a lot with the change in name, delay in updating, etc...But I genuinely do appreciate it.**


	3. Chapter 63: What Could Go So Wrong

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** This chapter is rated ****M.**

* * *

**Chapter 63**

**WHAT COULD GO SO WRONG**

Addison sat nervously on the edge of her bed as she stared at the calendar on her phone and counted backward in her mind. No matter how many times she counted, she still kept coming to the same conclusion. She was definitely late.

For months they had been so careful, and then there was the cheer championship after party. She laid down and closed her eyes, the memory flooding her mind.

.

_With a low growl, he was on her, pressing his body against hers, pushing her back against the door. Her eyes flamed with passion as she wrapped her legs around his waist, thrusting her hips up to his, begging him to take her with broken words and frantic touches._

_He buried his head against her breasts, taking one hardened nipple deep into his mouth through the lacey material, nipping it with his teeth and then soothing the sting with his tongue. One hand stroked and pulled at her other breast, giving it the same attention his mouth was paying to its twin. His other hand slid over her stomach, moving further down._

_Her cry of pleasure echoed through the room as his fingers finally slid between her legs. He was past the point of patience as he pushed the thin material covering her mound and slipped two fingers deep inside her. She was so wet, so hot, for him._

_"Zed, please, I need to feel you inside me, now," she moaned, pulling his body into perfect alignment with hers. The need to have him buried deep inside her was almost unbearable._

_"Addison," he whispered, "we need to stop" he rasped out almost painfully, turning them both and sitting her on top of the washing machine._

_"No"_

_"I don't have anything with me. It's been so long."_

_She arched her hips, delighting in the way he gasped against her lips._

_"Tell me to stop," he whispered, kissing and nipping along her jaw._

_"No."_

_"Please, Addie."_

_She pulled his face back up to hers and looked him in the eyes. "I'm on the pill. Don't stop."  
._

Tears began to fill her eyes. He had tried to stop them, but she urged him on. The same thing happened the next morning in the shower at the hotel. She's the one that told him not to worry.

With tears streaming down her cheeks she opened up the browser on her phone. "Don't fail me now Google," she whispered, quickly typing the words "early pregnancy symptoms" into the search bar. She scrolled through the links before clicking on one that looked promising.

_14 (Very) Early Pregnancy Symptoms_

_Think you're pregnant? If you're the impatient type, here are the most common first symptoms of pregnancy that can start as early as the week before your period. If you've already experienced a few, it may be time to head to the drugstore to pick up a pregnancy test or schedule an appointment with your ob-gyn._

_1- Sore breasts_

Addison stared at the screen and thought about it for a moment. She had been a little tender while they were in Hawaii, but she'd chalked it up to the amount of attention that Zed had been paying them. "We'll mark that one as a maybe..." she whispered to herself before scrolling to the next one.

_2- Cramps or backache_

Cramps, no. But, backache...Again, she figured it had just been from all the traveling and lack of sleep. "Maybe for number two as well."

_3- Implantation Bleeding_

"No."

_5-Fatigue_

"Well, that's a big fat yes," she mumbled. "Could still be jet lag..."

_6- Pregnancy Nipples_

"Seriously? That's a thing?" She peeked down her shirt… "Looks the same to me… that's another for the no column."

_7-Nausea_

She shuddered. "Yeah...that's another yes."

_8-Bloating_

"Could be the overeating on vacation...but, maybe."

_9- Peeing More Often_

"Nope."

_10- Cravings_

"Another nope...Oh, wait..." She thought back to all the spicy foods she'd had been craving lately. Those were definitely new. "Okay, so another yes."

_11- Headaches_

"Yes."

_12- Constipation_

"Oh, thank God, no."

_13- Mood Swings_

"Why would I have mood swings, what kind of stupid list is this….Oh….oh yeah," she sighed heavily marking down another yes.

_14- Basal Body Temperature_

"Really? I'm 18! Why would I be checking this!" she snapped at her phone as she scrolled past that one.

_15- Nose Nuisances_

She sniffled a little. "Yes, but could just be re-adjusting to Seabrook from being in Hawaii..."

She looked back over her answers. 6, yes...3, maybe...4, no...and 1 WTF… She looked through them again. "Who am I kidding," she whispered to herself. "Those maybes are a yes." She held her phone close to her chest and curled up under the covers as tears streamed down her face.

* * *

As soon as baseball ended, Zed called Addison to check on her. When her voicemail picked up, he smiled. "Hey, Gorgeous. Just calling to check on you. I hope getting your voicemail means you're sleeping. I love you. Call me when you wake up." He grabbed his gear and headed towards his car.

The evening dragged on. He tried to busy himself with making dinner, helping Zoey with homework, doing his own homework, but nothing distracted him long enough. He found himself continuously texting or calling Addison to check on her, getting no answer and no response back each time. By the time Zoey had finally gone to bed, he was starting to worry. He sat on his bed with Milo in his lap and called her again.

"Hello?" Addison answered sleepily.

"Hey, Gorgeous. I didn't wake you up, did I? I hadn't heard from you all evening..."

"No, I've been in and out since this afternoon," she sniffled. "Z...we need to talk."

"About what?"

"I...I..." her voice broke and she started to cry.

Before Zed could ask her what was wrong, the line went dead. He pulled his phone away from his ear and looked at the screen in confusion. He quickly called her back, but it went straight to voicemail. He tried again with the same results. He started to pace around his room anxiously. Something was definitely wrong. He needed to be there for her. He grabbed his keys and wallet and started for the door. He made it halfway down the stairs before he remembered that his sister was in her room asleep and his dad wouldn't be home for a few more hours. He growled in frustration and walked back up to his room. He pulled his phone back out of his pocket and dialed Eliza's number.

"E! I need a huge favor!" He rushed out the second she picked up.

"Yeah, sure...is everything okay?"

Zed ran his hands through his hair anxiously. "I don't know."

"Zed, what's going on?"

"I need to go see Addison. I haven't talked to her all evening, and she finally picked up the phone, and then she started crying and hung up on me! I'm freaking out over here, E!"

"Obviously..."

"Pops isn't home yet and Zoey is asleep. I just need you to come over and keep an ear out for her."

"Bucky and I will be right over."

He let out a large sigh of relief. "Thanks, E. I owe you one."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm so raiding your ice cream."

"It's yours! Now get over here!" he said as he hung up the phone.

When Eliza and Bucky opened the door to leave her house, Zed was already in his car in the middle of the street.

"Doors unlocked, Zoey's asleep, Pops will be back later," he rushed out anxiously.

"I just tried calling her, too. Got her voicemail," Bucky said. "Let me know what's going on."

"Will do, man. Thanks for doing this."

Eliza waved him off. "It's nothing. Go...we've got this."

Zed sighed in relief. "Thanks."

He drove as quickly as he could, through the sleepy streets of Seabrook, violating just about every traffic law along the way. When he pulled up to Addison's house, he tried calling her again. Still straight to voicemail. He ran his hands through his hair anxiously and looked around, unsure of what to do. Suddenly, he remembered how he used to sneak in to see her before her parents allowed him in the house.

"I can't believe I'm about to do this again..." he mumbled to himself before parking the car and walking towards the large tree on the side of the house.

* * *

"Addie!"

Addison sat up in bed and wiped her eyes. She looked around her room in confusion, convinced she was hearing things.

"Addison!"

She definitely wasn't imagining. That was definitely Zed whisper yelling from the branch outside her bedroom window.

"Zed!" Addison said in shock, throwing her window open and helping him inside. "What are you doing here?"

"Comforting my girlfriend," he said as he wrapped her in his arms. "Besides, what could go so wrong with a Zombie sneaking into the Patrol Chief's daughter's bedroom in the middle of the night?" he joked, kissing the top of her head.

Addison smiled as she melted into the comfort of his chest. When she looked up into his eyes, she started to cry again.

"Addie, you're killing me here. What is wrong, gorgeous?" he whispered, wiping under her eyes with the pads of his thumbs and kissing her swollen lips.

"I'm...I'm..."

"Shhh...It's okay. Deep breaths."

She took a steadying breath and closed her eyes. "Zed, I'm late," she whispered as quietly as possible.

"For what?"

Addison's eyes shot open and she pushed away from him. "What do you mean, 'for what'?" she yelled as loud as she could while still whispering. "My period is late."

"Wait, what!" he shouted loudly.

"Shhhhh...do you want my parent's waking up?" she started to cry once again.

"Addie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. Please don't cry," he pleaded as he wiped her eyes again. "I'm sorry...shhhhh…." he pulled her back towards him and wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry into his chest. "How can you be late? Aren't you on the pill?"

"Nothing is 100% effective," she whispered sadly. "I spent my entire afternoon on google trying to find answers. It could be because I traveled a bunch and didn't take the time zone change into account when I took them, or the antibiotics and cold medicine I was on could have interacted

with it, or because of the supplement I take to help with my anxiety, or I could just be one of the nine in one hundred lucky people who it just fails for!" She started to cry again, burying her face harder into his chest as he held her tighter. "What are we going to do?"

Zed stroked her soft white hair, and place a kiss on top of her head. "Have you taken a test yet?" he whispered.

She shook her head. "No. I just realized I was late this afternoon." She sniffled and wiped her nose on his shirt sleeve. "I don't know how I didn't realize it sooner. I'm always like clockwork."

"How late are you?"

"I should have started when we first got to Hawaii."

He kissed the top of her head again. "You're only a week and a half late. Is there a chance your just late?"

"I'm always like clockwork. But think about it, Z… the mood swings, the nausea...how tired I've been lately, the out of nowhere cravings for spicy food...the non-stop cravings for you..."

Zed sighed heavily and whispered a few zombie curses under his breath. "I think the first thing we need to do is have you take a test."

"Zed, I can't just go to the store and buy a pregnancy test. My mom is the freakin' Mayor and is running for Governor. I can only imagine the scandalous headlines if this gets out. Especially after the last story! And no offense, you can't go get one either. You're a little recognizable around here."

"All good points," he said softly. He pulled her over to the bed and laid down with her, letting her rest her head on his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair and rubbed her back soothingly. Suddenly, he stopped. "We have Spring Orientation this weekend."

"How can you even think about that right now?" she said with a sniffle.

"Hear me out. Neither of us are as well known up there. We can blend in a little easier. There's free time built into the schedules. We can slip away for a little while and grab a test then."

"But that's two days from now though," she said through a sob.

"I know. I'm sorry Addie. But it's the best idea I've got right now," he said as he wrapped his arms around her tightly. He buried his nose into her hair and closed his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Gorgeous."

"Me too..." she whispered. They were silent for a moment before Addison started with a fresh round of sobs."

"Addie…" Zed whispered, his voice cracking as he fought back tears of his own.

"But our plan," she cried into his chest. "Getting pregnant was not part of the plan."

He sat them up and looked into her eyes. "We don't know anything for certain yet. Plans can change. You and me. That's the most important part of the plan. Life is crazy and unpredictable, but as long as we have each other, we can handle whatever is thrown our way." He placed a soft kiss on her lips. "I love you, Addison."

"I love you too Zed," she sniffled.

He laid them both back down and kissed her again.

"I'm just really scared right now," she whispered against his lips.

"Me too, gorgeous. Me too."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** I**** know this chapter is short, I'm sorry! I hope you all enjoyed the update. Let me know!**


	4. Chapter 64: Oh Tell Me More Boy

**CHAPTER 64**

**OH TELL ME MORE BOY**

Saturday morning had finally arrived, despite the feeling that it never would. Both Addison and Zed had spent the last two days walking around in a daze, finding it difficult to focus on anything else.

Zed rolled out of bed sleepily, petting Milo as he stood up. He hadn't slept much since Wednesday night. He found himself staying up all night reading anything he could find on both human pregnancy and zombie pregnancy. The more he read, the more terrified he got. Sure the thought of having a child at a young age was scary, but he knew the two of them together could handle it. What really scared him was everything that could go wrong. Tears started to fill his eyes as he stood under the hot spray of the shower. His mother had died giving birth to his sister. He knew that he would never forgive himself if something happened to Addison. He wiped at his eyes and turned off the water. He repeated the same thing he had been telling himself since Wednesday night. "We don't know anything yet." With a heavy sigh, he made his way back to his room to get dressed for the day. When he was finally dressed, he grabbed his backpack and duffle and went downstairs.

Zevon was standing in the kitchen placing breakfast down on the table for him when he walked in.

"Figured you'd want to eat something before you headed out...Freshman orientation," Zevon said in awe. "I'm proud of you, son."

"Thanks, Pops," Zed replied quietly as he sat down and pushed his cauliflower egg scramble across his plate.

"You okay? Where's the typical swagger?"

Zed ran his hand through his hair and shrugged. "Just tired I guess."

"Still trying to adjust from the trip?"

"Yeah."

Zevon sat down next to him at the table. "What time do you guys expect to get back tomorrow?"

"Orientation wraps up at two, I believe, then we have to drive back..." he shrugged. "Depends on traffic, but probably before seven."

"Gloria wanted to come by to make dinner tomorrow."

Zed's face lit up. "I totally support that idea," he smiled.

"I figured you would," he clapped Zed on the shoulder and stood back up. "Be careful driving."

"I will."

"And I want to hear all about it tomorrow night."

Zed sighed. "I'm sure we'll have lots to talk about." He set his fork down and stood up, hugging his father. "I've got to go pick up Addie."

Zevon was momentarily caught off guard by the sudden hug. "Oh, okay...what about Eliza?"

He shook his head. "She drove up with Bucky last night. He's representing the cheer squad at all the events this weekend... I'll see you later, Pops."

All too soon Zed was parked in front of Addison's house. He took a deep breath and tried to get his head straight. "We don't know anything yet." He breathed in through his nose and exhaled out his mouth. He needed to be strong for her. He took one more deep breath and straightened his shoulders, plastering his usual self-assured smile on his face before he got out the car to ring the doorbell.

A moment later the door opened and Addison stepped out smiling. "Bye Mom, Bye Dad!" She took Zed's hand without saying a word and walked towards the car. Her large smile not slipping until after her bags were in the trunk and they were driving off down the street. With a heavy exhale she finally relaxed. "Morning, handsome," she whispered leaning over to kiss him.

"Morning, gorgeous...how are you feeling?"

She shrugged. "I only threw up twice...so that's an improvement. I'm just tired. I couldn't sleep last night."

"Me either."

"Do you mind if we stop at Dream Bean before we get on the road? I could really go for about a gallon of coffee right about now...and a brown sugar cinnamon muffin...but mostly the coffee."

Zed cringed. "Um...Addie...I was doing some reading while I was trying to fall asleep last night. I think you should dial the caffeine intake back a little. If you are...you know..."

Addison let out a low growl. "I swear if you try to keep me from coffee right now I will…." she closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she tried to center herself. After a few more calming breaths she opened her eyes and looked over to him. "Sorry...Once we know for sure, then I'll read every last article I can find on the subject. But until then, I need it! Got it!"

"Yes, ma'am..." Zed said with a slight smile. "You know those mood swings are getting pretty scary."

She let out another heavy sigh. "I know. I'm trying to stop them. I just get so angry and ragey and…."

"And you feel like you want to take a bite out of someone?"

"Yeah, how did you..."

Zed pointed to himself. "Zombie...remember. That's what it feels like when we're unstable. Multiply that by a hundred and that's what it's like when we go offline completely."

"Wow."

"Yeah, not fun."

"So..." Addison said trying to lighten the suddenly very heavy air in the car. "Coffee?"

Zed shook his head and smiled. "You got it, Gorgeous." He'd do anything to keep her happy. He drove through the drive-thru, ordering them both coffees and muffins. Before they even made it onto the interstate, Addison was softly snoring.

* * *

"Addie..." Zed said softly shaking her should. "Wake up, beautiful. We're here?"

Addison's eyes fluttered open. "What?"

"We're here."

"Already?"

Zed smiled and leaned over the center console to kiss her cheek. "It's been a few hours."

Her eyes started to fill with tears. "Why didn't you wake me up? You shouldn't have had to drive all the way listening to me snore!"

"Hey," he whispered pulling her into a hug. "Your snoring was adorable, and you need the sleep. It's okay."

"But I wanted to spend time with you."

He kissed her softly. "I'm sorry."

Addison sniffled and wiped her nose. "It's okay...I'm just kind of all over the place."

"Do you want to go grab a test right now? We have about an hour before everything starts."

She shook her head. "No, we need to register, and check into our dorms, and meet up with my cousin and Eliza, and..."

Zed let out a soft laugh. "I get it...plenty to do in the next hour."

"We should probably get started."

He held her tight and kissed the top of her head. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

They sat their silently in each other's arms for a few more minutes before finally getting out the car to face the day. Zed grabbed Addison's weekender and backpack out of the trunk along with his own.

"You know I am fully capable of carrying my own bags, right?" Addison said as she walked around to the trunk.

Zed rolled his eyes. "It's the least I can do right now."

"Zed! Addison!"

They both turned around to see Stanley Winters exiting his car. They waved and walked over to meet him.

"So do I call you Mr. Winters or Stanley while we're on campus?" Zed asked as he shook his hand.

Stanley looked around. "As long as the President of the university isn't around, Stanley will be just fine."

Zed smiled. "Noted. How are Hannah and Kyla?"

"Doing great! She's getting big. Hannah just went back to work, so Ky has been spending a lot of time with Grandma." He pulled out his phone and showed them her most recent picture.

"Awww," Addison said quietly. "She has gotten big. She's so cute."

"Thank you. She keeps us busy, that's for sure. She's finally sleeping a little more at night. Colic is not fun. Between the late night feedings, diapers, and that...I didn't think we were ever going to sleep again!" he glanced down at his watch. "I've got to run. Zed...are you coming back up with Addison in a couple of weeks for the cheer clinic?"

"Sure am."

"Great. Why don't we plan to get together for lunch? I'll text you."

"Sounds great, Stanley," he said shaking his hand.

"Addison, always a pleasure."

"Glad we ran into you," she said forcing a smile to her face.

"Enjoy orientation!" He called out as he briskly walked towards the administration building.

"Zed..." Addison whispered, grabbing his arm in a panic. "I didn't even think about any of that stuff. The sleepless nights, the constant crying, the diapers, the feedings..."

He turned to face her. "Addison, look at me," he said holding her face in his hands. "We don't know anything yet."

"I know, but..."

"No."

"But what if..."

"No. We're not stressing about this yet. Got it?" He placed a soft kiss on her lips. "I love you. We will deal with whatever happens together."

She nodded her head and hugged him around the waist, nestling her head into chest.

"There you two are!"

They both looked over to see Bucky and Eliza walking up to them.

"You alright, cuz?"

Addison nodded. "Yeah, I just woke up."

"Still not feeling well?"

She shook her head. "I'll be fine. You know I always fall asleep on road trips."

Bucky laughed. "Yeah, I'm sure you got an earful, Z...it's even worse when it's her and my Uncle Dale snoring in stereo."

Eliza just smiled and stepped in front of him. "I have to go join the tour that's about to start, but I was looking at the schedules. Looks like we'll have a break for dinner. Do we want to grab something together? I mean, if you want to associate with a computer major," she teased. "I can't believe I get to say that! Me! A computer major!"

"Actually, we just ran into Sta...Mr. Winters, we're having dinner with him to talk about the upcoming signing day press conference at school. Lot's to plan!" Addison said as cheery as possible, hoping they wouldn't suspect anything.

Eliza shrugged. "Whatevs. We'll just catch you at the social after."

"Definitely," Zed said. "Enjoy the tour...and E...congratulations," he whispered, hugging her.

"Thanks, Z."

When they walked their separate ways, Zed draped his arm over Addison's shoulder. "That was very convincing," he laughed as they made their way towards the sign in table.

"Yeah, well you're a terrible liar and she would have seen right through you. I, unfortunately, have years of experience thanks to my parents and that god awful

wig." She grabbed onto his arm in a panic again. "Please tell me we would never make our child wear a wig?"

Zed pulled her into a hug. "I promise. I don't care what color hair they have. Green, white, purple, striped, polka-dot…"

She pulled back and smiled. "Polka-dot? Really?"

"What? It could happen."

Addison giggled and reached up on her tippy toes to kiss him. "Thank you. I needed that."

He kissed her back. "Anytime, Gorgeous. Anytime."

* * *

After walking Addison over to the women's dorm, Zed walked the short distance over to Bartholomew Hall where he would be staying. He made his way up the stairs to the third floor and down the hall. He checked his room assignment once more before knocking and opening the door.

"Hello?" He said as he cracked the door open and popped his head in.

"Hey!"

Zed walked into the room and dropped his bags down on the unoccupied bed before holding his hand out to greet his roommate for the weekend. "Zed."

"Zavier," the other zombie said shaking his hand. "Hey...I recognize you…We played you guys in the State Championship game this year. You scored the winning touchdown."

Zed laughed. "Oh, no...you're an Eel?"

"Well, we'll both be playing for the Rays next season," Zavier said sitting back down on his bed.

"What position do you play?"

"Center."

"Nice to meet another O-line teammate. What's your major?"

"Political Science."

"Really? That's my girlfriends major as well," Zed said smiling.

Zavier let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness I won't be the only zombie in that program."

"Oh, no...she's not a zombie. She's very much a human."

"Really?"

Zed smiled even wider and nodded.

"Cool...I don't know any zombie/human couples...How did that happen?"

"It's a long story, but...we've been together since Freshman year."

"Wow," Zavier whispered shaking his head in disbelief. "So, what's your major?"

"I'm doubling. Bio and Kinesiology."

"Damn...and playing football?"

"Yup. Figured it would help with the MCAT for Med-School."

"And I thought I was an overachiever," Zavier laughed.

A knock on the door interrupted them.

"I'll get it," Zed said standing back up. He opened the door only to be tackled hugged.

"Addie! I thought we were meeting back up in the student union in thirty?"

"That was before I 'met' my roommate," she said almost in tears.

Zed wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tighter. "Shh...it's okay, what happened?"

"They have me rooming with Morgan!"

He pulled away slightly to be able to look at her. "Morgan? Morgan, Morgan? As in annoying Morgan from school?"

"Yeah. Morgan, always flirting with you, tricked you into kissing her, Morgan!"

"I didn't kiss her..."

"Performed 'life-saving CPR unnecessarily on'...point remains."

"Awww, come here," he smiled, hugging her again. He looked over to his roommate. "This is my girlfriend, Addison."

Addison looked up and wiped her eyes. "Hi," she waved. "Sorry to just barge in. I promise I'm not usually like this. I'm just having a rough morning."

Zavier smiled and waved back. "It happens. I'm Zavier. I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot of you. Poli-Sci major."

"Really? That's awesome. It'll be nice knowing someone else in the fall."

"Between that and football, we'll probably be sick of each other," he teased.

"You play football too?"

"Sure do. I play center."

"Oh, so you'll both be playing offense. That's amazing that they put you two together! Unlike my room assignment..."

Zed bit his lip to keep himself from laughing. "I'm sorry, Gorgeous."

"I think they put us together because we're both Zombies," Zavier offered with a shrug. "The football thing was probably a happy accident."

Addison nodded. "That would make sense, Eliza's rooming with a zombie as well. I already asked if I could crash on their floor tonight."

"What did she say?"

"She said it was fine by her, but if my snoring is as bad as Bucky says, she can't be held responsible for her actions."

Zed stifled another laugh. "You don't snore that bad. I think it's adorable."

"You have to say that because you love me… I need to go get some fresh air. It smells like a locker room in this dorm," she scrunched her nose and shook her head.

He leaned over and grabbed his backpack. "I'll head out with you." He looked over to Zavier, "I'll catch you later, man."

"I don't think you're going to find my snoring adorable," Zavier said, throwing him a head nod.

"It was nice to meet you, Zavier. I guess I'll be seeing you soon."

"Good to meet you too, Addison."

When they got outside Addison took a deep breath in through her nose.

"Better?" Zed asked wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

Addison smiled and leaned back into his chest. "Much."

He bent down and kissed her softly. "You ready to go hear all about what to expect our Freshman year at SLU?"

She shook her head as she looked up into his eyes. "Not really. I'm not going to be able to focus on anything when I'm worried I'll be reading 'What to expect when expecting' while sitting in Freshman seminar."

He turned her around and ran a soothing hand down her back. "I checked the schedule. We have a break for lunch as well. Do you want to go then?"

She shook her head. "No...we have to meet with the advisers in our majors immediately after. We can't risk not being here for that."

"So we're waiting until four?"

She nodded.

"Well, if that's the case...let's focus on school, now… We don't know anything yet."

"No promises," she muttered under her breath as they set off towards the auditorium.

* * *

Addison went through her day in a haze. She wanted to be excited about things like joining Model U.N., and Future Leaders, but with every new opportunity presented to her she withdrew more and more. By the time their dinner break finally rolled around, she was completely numb. She walked through the quad towards the parking lot lost in her thoughts. It wasn't until she felt a pair of familiar arms wrap around her that she even realized someone had been talking to her. She shook her head and looked up into his eyes.

"You okay, Gorgeous?"

"Yeah...just a lot on my mind. I didn't even realize..."

Zed smiled and kissed her softly. "It's fine. I've been a bit distracted too." He unlocked the car and opened the door for her. "So...where to?" he asked as he sat down in the driver's seat.

Addison shrugged, her voice was barely louder than a whisper. "The closest pharmacy, I guess."

Zed nodded his head and drove off towards the store. When they parked in the parking lot a few minutes later, he turned to look at her. "You ready?"

She shook her head. "Not really...Z...I don't think we should go in together."

"Why?"

"We're too obvious together."

"Okay...Want me to go?"

She nodded. "Could you at least try to not stand out, though?"

"Addie... I'm a 6' 4" Zombie. I can't not stand out." He reached into the backseat and grabbed his SLU baseball cap, placing it on his head. "This is the best I can do. It will at least cover the green hair."

"Give me that," she said taking it off his head.

"What? Why?"

"You may be on to something..." she mumbled as she started rummaging through her purse. "Yes!"

"Are those your nerd glasses from spirit week?" Zed asked, looking at what she just pulled from her purse.

"Yep. If I put my hair up under your hat, and wear these..." she said putting them both on. "What do you think?" she asked looking over to him.

Zed smiled and shook his head. "You look adorable...but it does the trick."

She leaned over and kissed him quickly. "You stay here with the car running, that way if we need to make a quick escape we're ready."

"Addie, you're not robbing a bank. We don't need a getaway car," he chuckled.

"Well it feels just as dangerous," she kissed him again. "I'll be back as soon as possible." She opened the car door and looked both ways before walking across the parking lot into the store. Her eyes scanned the signs above each aisle before finally finding the one she needed. She walked down the aisle and stopped. "Good Lord, why are there so many?" she mumbled under her breath, before finally deciding on one that promised the earliest results.

As she stood in the checkout line she started to nervously look around. Her toe tapped anxiously and her fingers drummed against her leg rapidly. When her eyes landed on a large display of purple bags, she stilled. Her mouth began to water. The only thing she could think about was the spicy taste hitting her tongue. She stepped out of line and grabbed a bag of Takis from the display and ripped it open. The moment the first chip touched her tongue, she let out a loud moan. The person in line in front of her turned around.

"What?" Addison said with a shrug. "These are really good."

The woman shook her head and smiled before stepping forward to check out.

A moment later, Addison walked up to the cashier and held the chips out for her to ring up.

"Will that be all ma'am?" the cashier asked, motioning towards the pink box under Addison's arm.

"Oh! Sorry, chips...distracted...yeah, this too..." she said nervously, mouthing the word "sorry" again. She quickly paid cash and walked back out the store towards the car.

When she opened the door still eating, Zed let out a laugh. "I thought you were getting a pregnancy test?"

"I did get one. But they had a display of these by the register and then I literally couldn't think about anything else but eating these things."

Zed smiled and reached over to take one of the spicy chips.

She swatted his hand away. "My takis." She popped another into her mouth and closed her eyes, moaning. "Soooo goood."

"Yeah...we need to take that test pronto."

She licked her finger clean and buckled her seat belt. "Where to?"

"We could go back to the dorms?"

Addison shook her head. "No. I'm not spending one more second in there than I have to. I don't want to be kicked out of school before I even start because Morgan said something to set me off… The mood swings lately are no joke….neither are these cravings."

"We could go back to mine?"

She shook her head again. "I can't do this in a dorm that shares a name with my cousin…and the general 'guy' smell would probably make me lose these Takis, and then I would either cry or get angry."

Zed ran his hand through his hair anxiously. "Want to grab something to eat and think about it?"

"Probably as good of a plan as any," she said going back to the chips. "Want one?"

"Oh, now I get one?" he teased as he leaned over and opened his mouth, jokingly biting her finger as she placed the chip in his mouth. She giggled and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"Thank you, beautiful," he smiled as he put the car in gear, driving away from the pharmacy. "Anything in particular sound good?"

She glanced at the clock. "Somewhere close to campus. We have to meet Bucky and Eliza for that stupid social."

"Addison, neither of them would be surprised if we skipped. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that Bucky has to be there as the cheer rep, I'd be surprised if they went at all."

"True..."

"So if there's something that sounds good to you and you'll be able to keep it down, I'll drive as far away from campus as needed."

She shrugged. "Any place where I'm not going to be around the k-word is good with me."

"Is that what we're calling ketch..."

"Don't even say the word..." she said holding her hand up to her mouth and closing her eyes. She took a few shallow breaths and swallowed loudly. When the wave of nausea passed, she opened her eyes and looked over to him. "If you say it, I think it, and then I can vividly remember the smell and taste of it..." she whispered before shuttering. "I could maybe go for a salad?"

"Panera?"

Addison thought it over for a moment. "That could work. It's right off campus, too...Yeah, Panera's good with me."

"Panera it is," Zed smiled as he changed lanes to head back towards campus.

As they stood in line to order, Addison leaned over and whispered, "Can you order for me? I really need to use the restroom all of a sudden."

"Sure. What do you want?"

"Um…" she studied the menu for a moment. "Half spicy Thai salad with chicken." She kissed his cheek and took off towards the restrooms. By the time she returned, Zed was in one of the booths lining the side wall by the windows with their food.

"So..." Addison said as she slid into the booth next to him. "I may have gone ahead and taken the test while I was in there."

Zed's eyes grew wide. "And what did it say?"

"Don't know yet. It takes a few minutes. I set a timer on my phone."

"Well, I guess we'll know in a few minutes..." he whispered taking a bite of his food.

"How can you possibly eat right now?"

"Three words...double bread bowl," he said scooping a bite of macaroni and eating it. "Besides, shouldn't you be eating something too...you know...in case you are…?" He scooped another bite of macaroni onto his fork and offered it to her. She leaned over and took it.

"Mmmm...needs hot sauce, though," she said as she picked up her fork and took a bite of her own salad.

Zed shook his head and smiled.

"I can't believe we're doing this in a restaurant."

"I didn't know we were going to," he said with a smirk. "But...limited options, gorgeous. Look on the bright side, if you are...you know...we could always name it after where we found out. Panera Necrodopolus does have a certain ring to it."

"Zed, I love you, but we are never naming our child Panera."

"All I'm saying is that it would be better than naming it after the conception location. Storage Closet Necrodopolus just does not work. Neither does Polynesian...Poly could though...But no, to Riverdale...But definitely not Power Plant, or Front Seat...or Back Seat...or hood really…"

"Zed, if you want to keep the un in un-dead, you should probably stop," she said trying to suppress a laugh. "If you have any serious suggestions, I'd be more than happy to listen."

"Well, I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves. Those lines haven't even appeared on the test yet." He took a sip of his drink and cleared his throat. "But, I always kind of liked Jude for a boy."

"Jude? That's a sweet name," she repeated it in her head a few times and smiled. "Jude Necrodopolus...I like it. I'm surprised it's not a Zombie name though."

"Well, St. Jude is the patron saint of zombies. Us being lost causes and what not. So I guess in a way it's still a zombie thing."

"Ok, so Jude for a boy. What about a girls name?"

"That's an easy one," Zed said taking another bite of macaroni. "Zyla, after my mom."

"Zed," she whispered, as a single tear fell from her eye. "That's perfect."

"You're perfect," he smiled down at her as he leaned in for a kiss. He pulled back slightly and looked into her eyes. "Addison, no matter what happens, please know that I love you. No matter how crazy life gets, it's you and me side by side," he said kissing her again.

"Oh tell me more boy," Addison whispered against his lips with a smile. As she opened her mouth to deepen their kiss, the timer on her phone began to chime. She pulled away, suddenly overtaken with panic, she looked into Zed's eyes "I'm too nervous to look... You look... No, I want to... No, I don't."

"Together?" he suggested kissing her lips softly.

"Together." she smiled up to him, taking his hand in hers.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** And...another cliffhanger. Sorry (not really). ****But I am sorry for the delay in updating! I'll try to update sooner! Hope you enjoyed! If so (or if not...not picky here…) leave me a review and let me know!**

**In case you didn't know, I have another story that I recently started called On The Edge. Check it out! **

**Don't forget you can also follow me on Instagram at By_QuietlyScreaming**


	5. Chapter 65: Let Them Talk If They Wanna

**CHAPTER 65**

**LET THEM TALK IF THEY WANNA**

"I'm too nervous to look... You look... No, I want to... No, I don't."

"Together?" he suggested kissing her lips softly.

"Together." she smiled up to him, taking his hand in hers. "But I don't want to find out in the middle of a crowded chain restaurant," she whispered kissing him again. "I just want it to be you and me."

Zed stilled for a moment before standing up.

"What are you..."

"Let's go!" he said with a large smile, abandoning their partially eaten food and ushering her towards the exit. When they were within the confines of the car, he took her hand and placed a soft kiss on the top. "Where to, Gorgeous?"

"If we were back home I'd say the power plant or the bluffs..."

"If that's what you want, I'll start driving right now."

Addison shook her head and smiled. "I can't wait that long." She thought about it for a moment. "What about the cliffs right outside of town? We haven't visited them yet...maybe there's a pull-off like there is at the bluffs?"

"The cliffs it is," he whispered, leaning over to kiss her.

As they drove towards the outskirts of town, Addison kept stealing nervous glances towards Zed.

"What?"

"I'm nervous and scared, but also nervous and excited...that doesn't even make sense...I don't know..." she rambled, starting to bite her nails. "I don't know how I feel. On the one hand, it would be a relief to know why I've been acting and feeling so out of sorts lately. But on the other hand, that would mean I'm pregnant at 18..."

Zed could hear the panic in her voice start to rise. "Hey..." he whispered, reaching over to rub her leg comfortingly.

She looked over to him and wiped a tear from her eye.

"Baby lay on back and relax, kick your pretty feet up on my dash..." he started to sing, throwing her a wink. "No need to go nowhere fast, let's enjoy right here where we at..."

Addison giggled and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"Who knows where this road is supposed to lead  
We got nothing but time  
As long as you're right here next to me,  
everything's gonna be alright

If it's meant to be, it'll be, it'll be  
Baby, just let it be  
If it's meant to be, it'll be, it'll be  
Baby, just let it be..."

Addison rested her head on his shoulder and joined in.

"So, won't you ride with me, ride with me?  
See where this thing goes  
If it's meant to be, it'll be, it'll be  
Baby, if it's meant to be..."

"You always know how to calm me down," she whispered gazing up at him.

He stole a glance in her direction and smiled. "And you do the same for me," he said as they pulled off the main road down to the cliffs. They found an overlook and parked the car facing the water.

"So..." Zed said unbuckling his seat belt and turning towards her.

"So..." she whispered, doing the same. She took a deep breath and opened her purse. "I guess we should do this..."

He placed his hand over hers, keeping her from continuing. "Addison..."

She stopped and looked up into his eyes.

"No matter what… I love you. We're in this together."

"I love you, too."

"Okay," he smiled, taking his hand back and letting her grab the test from her purse.

She pulled it out face down and took a deep breath. "One..." she whispered looking back into his eyes.

"Two..." he leaned in to kiss her reassuringly.

"Three..." She turned it over to read the display.

"Addie..." Zed said breathlessly as he looked at the faint pink lines.

She looked up at him, tears forming in her eyes and a large smile breaking across her face. "We're..." she couldn't even get the words out of her mouth, opting to kiss him instead. She opened her mouth, kissing him hungrily. Her hands yanking and pulling on his hair to bring him closer and angle his head better.

After only a few moments they were both panting loudly, straining for more contact. Zed pulled away to catch his breath, resting his forehead against hers.

"I can't believe we're going to have a baby," he whispered.

Addison's face broke into a smile. "I'm so in love with you, Zed Milo Necrodopolus. I know this is crazy, but I've never been so happy in my entire life!"

"I love you."

"I didn't think I'd feel this way!"

"Me either," he smiled, pulling her back in for a kiss.

"Come on," she said as she turned around and opened her door, stepping out into the cool windy night.

"Where?"

"The back seat, silly! We're definitely going to need more room if we're going to properly celebrate."

"Well, when you put it that way..."

Zed joined her in the back. He had barely shut the door before she was jumping on him, pulling him down on top of her and kissing him wildly. He couldn't touch her everywhere fast enough.

"You are so beautiful….amazing...wonderful," he groaned between kisses. He slid his hands down her body and began tugging on her pants, hating the need to make even the slightest distance between them as the pants slipped over the swell of her hips.

Once they were low enough she kicked them off before grabbing the hem of her shirt and pulling it up over her head. Zed whispered a few words of appreciation before burying his face in her cleavage and covering it with open-mouthed kisses. Her giggles quickly turned into moans as he started thrusting against her again, feeling the warmth between her legs much more acutely with her pants out of the way.

Somewhere in the background, Zed heard the patter of raindrops beginning to fall against the windows, but when he glanced up they were completely fogged over. There was nothing to be seen but the soft glow of the dash and the gorgeous women beneath him.

"Come back to me," she gasped, tugging him back down by his hair until his lips were covering hers again.

"Nowhere else I'd rather be," he whispered against her lips. She had somehow gotten him out of his shirt without stopping their kisses, and her hands were making excellent work of his jeans when a loud, obnoxious ringing tore through the car.

"What is that?" Zed panted.

"What is what?" she asked, almost in a daze.

"That ringing...Don't you hear it?"

Addison looked around, reality sinking in slowly. When the shrill noise finally registered in her mind she bolted straight up. "Oh, no!" She dug through her purse frantically until she located her phone. Shooting him a worried glance, she crawled out from under him and sat up. "It's my mom...I have to take this."

Zed leaned back against the back headrest and closed his eyes to calm himself down.

"Hi, Mom!" Addison said cheerily as she answered the call. "I love it! I'm having so much fun….Yup, we make our schedules tomorrow….We also put in our housing requests tomorrow… No, the apartment is still the plan," she rolled her eyes and mouthed "help me" to Zed. "Mom, it's the only way Bucky and I can live together on campus. You know how protective he is of me. It was his idea…Exactly….Alright, I really need to run. We're just about to head over to the social they're throwing...Definitely making memories, Mom. No need to worry there...Yup...Love you too. Bye." Addison hung up the phone and breathed out heavily. She turned back towards Zed. "She's going to kill me."

"No..." he sighed heavily, running his hands through his hair and pulling at the ends. "She's going to have me thrown into containment, and your dad is going to make sure I never get out. I joke about it all the time, but I'm pretty sure knocking you up is going to be the one that makes it actually happen."

Addison's eyes widened. "You're right…."

"Gee, thanks, Addie...You're supposed to tell me I'm wrong."

She leaned against his chest and wrapped her arms around him. They were silent. The gravity of the situation finally sinking in. "We need to have a solid plan in place before we tell them," she whispered.

"What?"

She sat up and looked him in the eyes. "If we can show them that we can do this...We've got a chance."

Zed nodded his head and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers and whispered, "Well, let's start planning."

Addison looked at him and pouted. "After a kiss like that, I was hoping we could go back to the celebrating part."

His chest shook with silent laughter. "Are you really in the mood after that phone call?"

"No...but I could get back there pretty fast," she smiled up at him before giggling. "But you're right...we should probably try to figure some things out."

"How about we plan now and then we celebrate?"

She kissed him and smiled. "I can live with that." She reached down and grabbed her backpack, pulling out her notebook. She flipped to a page she had written back in January when they sat in one of the guard towers on the beach having a picnic and planning out their future. "Let's see what we can salvage from our existing plan…"

_-commitment letters  
-Major: Political Science/ Z- Biology and Kinesiology  
-Minor: Japanese  
-Cheer, make captain, win Nationals  
-Football, win National Championships, NFL Draft (*this would be AMAZING)  
-Med School (Dr. Necrodopolus!)  
-Engagement (Z won't tell me when)  
-Wedding (can't wait to become Mrs. Necrodopolus and spend my entire life with my love!)  
-Happily Ever After!  
_  
Zed read over her shoulder and smiled. "I like your side notes," he said kissing the top of her head.

She let out a heavy sigh as she read through the list. "Cheer is definitely out. At least for the first year...And honestly, I don't think I'll have the time to commit to it after," she scratched it out. "I'm glad I still have an academic scholarship," she whispered sadly.

"Hey..." Zed said turning to look at her. "Cheering is part of who you are. We'll find a way to make it work after."

Addison leaned into him. "Some things are more important," she whispered. She smiled as she placed her hand on her stomach.

It was such a small gesture, but the significance

wasn't lost on Zed. "I love you, so much."

"I love you, too." She kissed him softly and then went back to the list. "Majors and minors...those don't have to change...although..." she started to silently count. "I'll be due in December. I'm going to have to take off second semester."

Zed nodded. "I can take off too."

"No...you need to stay full time to stay on the team."

"Addie, if you're giving up cheer, I shouldn't be playing football."

"Not a chance. I'm not letting you give it up."

"But..."

"Nope."

He gave her a look.

"You're going to play football."

He sighed knowing there was no arguing with her. "Fine, but I'm staying home with the baby while you go back to class over the summer."

"Deal," she said shaking his hand. "That'll keep me on pace to graduate on time."

Zed nodded. "What about the apartment?"

"What about it?"

"I think we should get one just for the two of us. I doubt E and B want to be around a crying newborn constantly...and I don't think I want our baby around them constantly, now that I think about it," he chuckled.

"Good point...Okay..." she jotted down another note. "What else..."

"I'm quitting baseball on Monday."

She looked up to him. "What?! Why?"

"Because babies are expensive. I can't work come the fall. I need to get as many hours in now as possible. And then I'll see about transferring up here after football season...I'll talk to Coach first thing Monday morning. It shouldn't be an issue. Murphy can handle the team all by himself."

"I didn't even think about the financial part..." she was silent for a few moments. "I could always rent out the house down in Hawaii. Maybe sell off some of the cars…" she suddenly smiled. "I can definitely sell off the catamaran! That thing alone is worth some serious bank. Think of all the diapers we could buy," she giggled.

Zed rolled his eyes and smiled, leaning down to kiss her. "Okay, so what else."

She thought for a moment. "More immediately, I'm going to need to schedule an appointment with a doctor...but we're probably going to have to tell the parents before then. The only thing worse than telling them that we're expecting is having them find out from someone else."

Zed took a deep breath and exhaled loudly through his mouth. "I think we should tell Pops and Gloria first."

"I'm not opposed to that, but why?"

"Well...Gloria is going to need to know because of the campaign. How many times has she told us that she can help us with a lot more if we're upfront with her."

"Good point. She could also help when it comes to my mom."

"Exactly… And Pops because...well he's Pops. He's going to support us no matter what, and I have a feeling we're going to need someone on our side."

"I agree."

"Addie..." he whispered.

She looked up, noticing the sad expression on his face. "What's wrong."

He let out a heavy sigh. "We should also talk to Aunt Zuri."

"Bonzo's mom?"

He nodded his head. "There hasn't been a baby born in Zombietown that she hasn't helped along the way. If anyone can help us, it's her...There's so much that could go wrong with a regular pregnancy, and zombie pregnancies are much riskier...And we..." He closed his eyes. "There's never been a half human, half zombie before..." he whispered. He was trying to keep his emotions in check, but all of the worrying he had been doing over the last few days suddenly hit him like a sledgehammer. He wiped at his eyes, trying in vain to keep the tears from spilling over. "Addison, I would never forgive myself if something happened to you because of me..."

"Hey..." she whispered taking his hand and placing it on her stomach.

Zed looked down to their conjoined hands resting on top of where their baby was growing, a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Everything is going to be fine. We're soul-mates, remember," she said pulling his face closer to hers with her free hand. "I'm sure Dr. Anderson will be monitoring everything closely...probably obsessively...this baby is goings to have the best medical team ever assembled. Nothing is going to go wrong," She wiped his tears away and kissed him softly. "I know you're scared...and so am I… but as long as we have each other..." she kissed him again.

"You have me. Until every last star in the galaxy dies. You have me." He ran his hand down the side of her face and sighed. "Are you worried about what everyone will say? You'll probably get a lot of backlash again...like when we first started dating..."

"Let the talk if they wanna...I love you, and I love that we're having a baby."

Zed smiled and kissed her. "You know this little one will probably have my hair...but I really hope he or she has your eyes."

Addison threw the notebook onto the front seat of the car and straddled his lap, pulling him to her with a fiery kiss. "I didn't think it was possible for me to love you any more than I already do..." she whispered against his lips before continuing the celebration they had started earlier.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: ****See! No cliff hanger this week! Let me know what you thought!**

**MUSIC USED: Meant to be (Bebe Rexha feat. Florida Georgia Line)**


	6. Chapter 66: We're Gonna Do What We Wanna

**Chapter 66**

**WE'RE GONNA DO WHAT WE WANNA**

"I love this song!" Addison exclaimed as she reached out to turn up the radio in the Mustang. "We were both young when I first saw you. I close my eyes and the flashback starts, I'm standing there on a balcony in summer air..."

Zed couldn't help but smile as he stole a glance at her. She was glowing. It had been two weeks since they found out they were expecting, and they had never been closer. They still had to deal with telling her parents, but right at that moment, their lives were perfect.

"And my daddy said 'Stay away from Juliet.' And I was crying on the staircase begging you, please don't gooooooooo. And I said 'Romeo…."

"Incoming call from...Gloria…." the car's Bluetooth interrupted Addison's singing, making her pout.

"It was just getting to the good part!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air and rolling her eyes.

Zed laughed and pressed the button on the steering wheel to answer the call. "Hey, Gloria."

"Good morning, I'm assuming you guys are already on your way up to Shoreline for the Cheer Clinic?"

"We're actually just about there."

"Hi, Gloria! How are things going over in Valley Range?" Addison called out.

"Hectic… your mother is in interviews all day before the town hall this evening and then we go straight into debate prep for tomorrow night."

"I appreciate you taking time out of your crazy schedule to set everything up. Are we all ready to go?" Zed asked.

"You sure are. Have a good weekend..." She said as she hung up.

Addison looked over to Zed. "What are you planning, buster?"

Zed smiled. "What are you talking about?"

She arched her brow and gave him a look. "What did Gloria set up for you? Hmmm?"

"She may have made us reservations at the Four Seasons for the night..."

"What?!" Addison exclaimed throwing her arms around him.

"We may also have reservations for a candlelit dinner for two..."

"Zed!" she kissed his cheek. "Wait!….I didn't pack anything! We were just planning on driving back to my house tonight! I can't go to dinner in my cheer uniform!"

Zed chuckled. "Relax, gorgeous… I packed a bag for you while you were in the shower this morning… It's in the trunk."

"Is that why you wouldn't join me?"

He turned to look at her the best he could while still driving. "Did you really think I'd pass on a shower with you if I didn't have a good reason?"

She giggled and leaned over to kiss him again. "How did you manage to convince Gloria to help? I thought she was still giving us both the cold shoulder?"

"It's amazing how quickly she warmed up when I gave her a copy of the sonogram."

Addison playfully smacked his shoulder before opening her purse and pulling out her own copy. "He or she is pretty cute…."

"Yup… our little zom-bean..." he smiled leaning over for a kiss.

She rubbed her recently formed small bump and smiled.

* * *

**SUNDAY AFTER ORIENTATION**

_"Pops! We're home!" Zed called out as he and Addison walked into the house._

_Addison inhaled deeply. "It smells fantastic!" she practically moaned just as Zevon walked in from the kitchen._

_"Hey, kids! You two are just in time, Gloria is finishing up dinner now. How was orientation?"_

_Zed and Addison looked at each other and smiled._

_"Great," Zed said, squeezing her hand._

_"Well, I can't wait to hear all about it. Come on, the table is already set."_

_Zed and Addison followed him to the kitchen where Zoey was already sitting at the table and Gloria was putting bowls down_

_"Addison, I have some chicken finishing up in the oven for you," Gloria said as she looked up. "I know etouffee is too spicy for you."_

_"Thank you. You didn't have to go through all that trouble."_

_"It was no trouble at all."_

_Addison pouted slightly as she sat down at the table next to Zoey. Zed sat down beside her and draped his arm around her shoulder. He leaned over, whispering in her ear, "You can have some of mine."_

_"Thank you," she whispered, turning to kiss his cheek._

_"None of that at the table, you two," Zevon laughed as he sat down. Gloria set a plate in front of Addison and sat down next to Zevon._

_Addison reached over to the center of the table and grabbed the hot sauce, dousing her chicken with it._

_"Well that's new," Gloria laughed._

_Addison shrugged. "Like I told Z in Hawaii, all this time eating with him has finally rubbed off on me." Zed offered her a bite of his etouffee. "Mmmm..." she moaned around the spoon. "So good."_

_Zed chuckled and slid his bowl over to her, taking her chicken instead._

_"So… Orientation..." Zevon said._

_Addison re-opened the hot sauce and added a few shakes onto the rice before taking another bite. "Mmm...even better," she mumbled to herself as she dug in for another bite._

_"Orientation was great," Zed said as he tried to hold in a laugh. "Schedules are made, housing applications filled out..."_

_Addison suddenly got up from the table and ran out of the room. Zed immediately took off after her, following her up the stairs to the bathroom. He knelt down next to her and held her hair back as she threw up. When she was finally done, he helped her up and got her a cup of water._

_"You okay, Gorgeous?"_

_"Ugh, not really… Dinner was really yummy too...stupid morning sickness lasting all freakin' day..." she mumbled. She took a sip of water and sighed. "How are we going to explain me running off? And I'm sure Pops and Zoey heard me throwing up."_

_"Probably...maybe we can just say you ate something bad up in Shoreline?"_

_"Maybe… mind if I use your toothbrush?"_

_Zed shook his head, "Not at all."_

_After brushing her teeth and taking a few moments to make sure she was entirely over her sudden wave of nausea, they walked downstairs and sat back down at the table._

_Zevon stared between the two of them for what felt like forever. Finally, with a heavy sigh, he turned to his daughter. "Zoey, my little zombie angel, how would you like to go over to Zena's for a little while?"_

_Her fork froze mid-air. "Am I being sent away so you can yell at Zed and Addison for acting even weirder than usual?"_

_"Of course not."_

_"Yeah...okay. Whatever you say..." she said standing up and putting her dish on the counter. "Enjoy the lecture, big bro..." she mumbled as she walked out the room. Everyone was silent as they watched her walk out of the house._

_Zed grasped Addison's hand tighter under the table as Zevon turned back towards the two of them._

_"I don't want to assume anything, so I'm going to give you the chance to talk before I say anything else."_

_"Zevy...what's going on?" Gloria whispered looking over to him._

_"Addie must have eaten something bad up in Shoreline...the Moo Shu Pork did smell a little questionable."_

_"Zed..." Zevon said, arching his brow. "You know you're a terrible liar, right son?"_

_Zed could feel Addison start to shake next to him. He took a deep breath and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "We weren't going to say anything tonight...but, we were planning to soon…We just found out yesterday…"_

_Gloria suddenly inhaled sharply. "Please tell me you are not saying what I think you are saying."_

_Addison nodded before quietly whispering, "I'm pregnant."_

_Zed and Addison both cautiously watched Zevon and Gloria's faces for their reactions._

_Zevon was the first to speak up. "How did this happen."_

_"Well, when a girl and a zombie love each other..."_

_Zevon glared at his son._

_"Sorry, Pops...obviously not the time to try and lighten the mood..."_

_"No."_

_"I thought you were on birth control," Gloria said looking at Addison._

_"I was! We thought we were being safe!"_

_Zevon slammed his hand down onto the table. "If you were being safe this wouldn't have happened!" he yelled looking at Zed. "Do you have any idea how much danger you are putting her in?!"_

_Zed stood up, knocking his chair down in the process. "Don't you think I know that!" he yelled back. "I've done nothing but think of that since she told me she was late!"_

_"Woah...back it up," Gloria said standing up as well. "What do you mean, 'danger'?"_

_Zevon took a deep breath. "Zombie pregnancies are a lot more...unpredictable than normal human pregnancies. There's so much that can go wrong."_

_"I'm making an appointment for you immediately!" Gloria exclaimed pulling out her phone and firing off an email. "You two need to be at my condo tomorrow after school! I'll have Dr. Tara meet you there. There is no way I'm risking exposure by having her go into the office!"_

_Addison let out a choked sob. Zed kneeled down next to her, pulling her into a hug. "Hey..." he whispered soothingly. "Please don't cry..." he wiped at her eyes with the pads of his thumbs. "It's like you said...this baby will probably have the best medical team ever assembled. Nothing is going to go wrong… You're my other half. I'll always protect you." She nodded her head as he kissed her softly. Zed looked back across the table. "Pops...Gloria… we know this wasn't expected, and we know you're disappointed. But when it comes down to it, we're both eighteen. Yes, it's young, but we are adults. We know this isn't going to be easy. We've talked about the pros, the cons, and the potential dangers. We have a plan in place. And right now..." he looked back to Addison and smiled, "we're pretty happy with the news. What's done is done, and neither of us needs a lecture. But we do need your support."_

_Zevon stood up and walked around the table to his son and picked up his chair before sitting down next to them. "I'll always support you," he pulled him in for a hug. "But that doesn't mean I can't be upset with you...even if it was an accident."_

_"Fair enough."_

_Zevon turned to Addison and hugged her as well. "Your parents are not going to handle this well."_

_She couldn't help but let out a small laugh through her tears. "No...they won't." She glanced at Gloria. "I'm definitely going to need some help in that area."_

_Gloria was silent for_

_a moment before she let out a loud sigh. "You're lucky I love you two...because I definitely do not get paid enough to put out fires the size that this is going to create."_

* * *

_"So..." Addison said as they got into the car after school the next day. "How did Coach take the news?"_

_Zed ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "He's pretty ticked off...Murph is pumped, but..." he exhaled loudly._

_"Are you sure you want to quit the team?"_

_He turned to look at her, taking her hands in his. "Gorgeous...I'll do whatever it takes to make this work. It's just baseball… In the grand scheme of things, not playing is not that big of a sacrifice."_

_She sighed. "If you say so..."_

_"I do." He pulled her in for a quick kiss. "Now let's go meet with your doctor."_

_"I can't believe Gloria actually got Dr. Tara to do this at her condo."_

_"I can. Gloria can be very convincing...and scary," he whispered the last part as he pulled out of his parking spot._

_They drove in relative silence for a few blocks before Addison spoke again. "Z..."_

_He stole a glance at her, noticing the tears forming in her eyes. "What's wrong?"_

_"I'm scared," she whispered so low that even with his heightened hearing, he barely heard her._

_He reached over and placed a comforting hand on her leg. "I know. So am I. But, hopefully, we'll know a whole lot more after this afternoon."_

_She nodded her head and wiped at her eyes. As they pulled up to Gloria's condo, she was standing on the porch waiting for them._

_"She's all ready to go in there," she said handing Zed a key. "Lock up when you're done...I have to get back to the office before Missy starts asking questions."_

_"Thank you," Addison said quietly._

_"You're welcome," Gloria responded before walking off._

_"She's really angry with us," Addison whispered._

_"Yup...but, at least she's helping us..." Zed answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "Well...Let's do this."_

_Dr. Tara was set up in Gloria's spare room. After a brief round of questions and another instant read pregnancy test, Dr. Tara confirmed that Addison was indeed pregnant. "Well, I'm glad I brought the portable ultrasound machine with me. Let's see if we can see your baby...If you'll just slip odd your skirt, underwear, and cover yourself with the blanket."_

_"My underwear? Isn't an ultrasound down on my stomach?" Addison asked as she looked at the doctor in confusion._

_Dr. Tara nodded. "At future appointments, yes. But, given that you are only just pregnant, a transvaginal ultrasound is our best chance at getting an accurate image of the baby."_

_"Oh..." Addison whispered before following the doctor's directions and lying on the bed. Zed pulled a chair up next to her and grabbed her hand reassuringly._

_"If you could lift and bend your knees, then part them wide," Dr. Tara said matter-of-factly as she rolled over what looked like an oversized computer._

_Addison frowned but did as she was told._

_Dr. Tara pulled a condom over a long white probe and lubricated it with a clear gel. "Okay, Addison, I'm going to need you to relax." Slowly and gently she inserted the probe._

_The screen pinged to life but only showed the visual equivalent of white noise. Slowly, Dr. Tara moved the probe about. "There," she murmured. She pressed a button freezing the picture on the screen, and pointing to a small mass._

_Addison stared at the screen. "Looks like a bean..."_

_Zed let out a soft laugh. "What?"_

_"Look," she said pointing over to the monitor. "It looks like a little bean."_

_He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You're right. Be careful though, Gorgeous. That's how nicknames start."_

_Addison looked over to him and shook her head, trying to keep a serious face. "I happen to think Bean could be a cute nickname."_

_He rolled his eyes and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "Our baby...the Zom-Bean."_

_"Zed! That's actually really cute! I'm not even teasing this time!"_

_Dr. Tara smiled as she watched their interaction. "Actually, the baby is measuring a bit larger than I was expecting… but given the unique genetic makeup of this little one, it's not too surprising." She leaned over and pressed a button. Suddenly, a whirring sound filled the room._

_Addison's eyes grew large. "Is that..."_

_"Your baby's heart-beat...It's strong," Dr. Tara said looking at them both._

_Zed gazed at the monitor in awe. "Does that mean, we won't need a Z-band?"_

_"I don't think anyone can say for certain, but the baby having this strong of a heartbeat so soon is certainly a good sign."_

_Addison couldn't help the happy giggle that escaped her mouth. Dr. Tara and Zed both jumped at the baby's response._

_"Did that just happen?" he asked quietly._

_"Addison, can you do that again?" Dr. Tara asked quietly._

_"What?"_

_"Laugh."_

_"Um...I guess?" She giggled again._

_"Huh...Well, that's interesting."_

_"What is?" Addison asked in a sudden panic._

_Zed smiled leaning down to kiss her._

_"Zed, would you mind?" Dr. Tara asked, motioning towards Addison's stomach._

_"Do I need to laugh or….?"_

_"Will someone tell me what is going on?!" Addison exclaimed, beginning to panic._

_"Addie, Gorgeous...relax..." he whispered softly, brushing her hair away from her face. "It looks like the baby might have my hearing. When you giggled we could see the baby move on the monitor."_

_"Really?" She looked between Zed and Dr. Tara excitedly._

_Dr. Tara nodded. "I'd like to see if there's a response to Zed's voice as well."_

_Zed leaned down next to Addison's stomach. "Hey, there our little zom-bean..."_

_"ZED!" Addison said excitedly. "The baby moved!" She pulled his face up to hers and kissed him._

_"With the accelerated growth, hyper audio awareness, and heartbeat… It looks like this little one will be a good combination of the both of you." Dr. Tara announced. She hit a few more buttons on her keyboard. "I'd assume you two would like a picture to keep?"_

_"We can do that?" Zed asked with a look of sheer joy on his face._

_"Of course! I'll even print out a few extras for you for when you decide to share the news," she said as she carefully removed the probe and handed Addison a few paper towels to clean up._

_"Thank you so much, Dr. Tara," Addison said as she sat up._

_"The pleasure is all mine. It's not every day you get the opportunity to be a part of history."_

* * *

_Later that evening once Zoey had gone to bed, Zed walked into the den where Zevon and Gloria were sitting together on the couch watching the nightly news._

_"Can we talk?" He asked nervously._

_"I'll just be in the other room..." Gloria said softly as she stood up from the couch._

_"Actually," Zed said looking over to her. "I'd like to talk to you as well."_

_She sat back down and nodded._

_"What's up, son?" Zevon said turning off the television._

_"First off, Gloria..." Zed's face broke out into a large smile. "Thank you so much for setting up the appointment for Addie today."_

_"I take it from the goofy grin, it went well?" she teased._

_His smile grew impossibly larger as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a photo. He handed it to his father. "The first picture of our little Zom-bean..." he said softly. "Healthy human heartbeat, and Zombie hyper-awareness… The best of both worlds."_

_Zevon's eyes filled with tears of joy. "Zed..."_

_"We thought you both might like a copy...so we asked Dr. Tara to print out extras." He reached into his jacket and pulled out another one, handing it to Gloria. "Pops...I know I promised the Chief that I would wait until after graduation, but obviously, things have changed. I'm going to need Mom's ring back."_

_"Are you sure?"_

_Zed let out a soft laugh. "Really? I've wanted to ask her since October."_

_"This is true," Zevon smiled. He stood up and hugged him. "I'll be right back."_

_"Thanks, Pops."_

_Zevon patted him on the shoulder and walked towards the stairs._

_"And this is where I come in, right?" Gloria smiled up to him._

_"You know it."_

_She stood up and hugged him as well. "Giving me a copy of the sonogram to butter me up...good move, Zed," she laughed through a few happy tears. "How can I help."_

* * *

Zed handed his keys to the valet before turning to look at Addison. She had a large smile on her face as she looked up at the stately hotel.

"Good surprise?" He asked as he took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on it.

"The best!... I have some great memories in this hotel..."

"We still have an hour before we need to be on campus..." Zed smiled as he picked her up bridal style. "What do you say we go make some more?"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** I know this chapter took FOREVER to post, but writer's block sucks and I know this chapter does too… So I apologize! Despite the epic suckiness, I hope you enjoyed it a little! **


	7. Chapter 67: What Happens Next Then

**Chapter 67**

**WHAT HAPPENS NEXT THEN**

"Do I have to go?" Addison whined as they got out of the car and began to walk towards the athletic complex. "It's not like I'm even going to be cheering next year!"

Zed wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. "We still need to keep up appearances… at least until we figure out how we're telling your parents."

She swallowed loudly. "Cheer clinic it is..."

"Besides, the sooner you do this, the sooner we can get back to the hotel."

"Maybe this time we'll actually make it past the entryway of the suite," she teased with a wide smile.

As they approached the front door, he turned her around and pulled her into a hug. "Take it easy in there...okay? Remember what Dr. Tara said."

She nodded her head. "No stunting… I know. I'll just say my stomach is bothering me..." She looked up and cracked a smile. "I'm pretty sure I can puke on demand if needed!"

Zed laughed and kissed her. "Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that." He looked around to make sure they were alone before placing a hand on her stomach. "You be good for your Mommy… no making her sick today."

It was Addison's turn to laugh. "I don't think our little Zom-bean has much control over that."

"Worth a shot," he smiled, leaning in and kissing her again. "I'll see you in a few hours, Gorgeous."

"Sounds good, Handsome. Tell Stanley, 'Hi' for me."

"Will do..." He kissed her again. "I love you."

"I love you, too...Now go before I decide to drag you back to the hotel!"

He laughed and kissed her cheek. "I wouldn't put up too much of a fight… I'm told there's more to the room than the entryway."

"You, sir, are incorrigible." She playfully pushed him away and blew him a kiss before walking in.

Zed slowly turned away and began the walk across campus towards the administration building. As he made his way through the scenic campus, he couldn't help but reflect on just how much his life had changed, and it was all thanks to Addison. None of this would have been possible without her. And now, she was carrying his child. A wide smile crossed his face. He climbed the steps of the administration building and opened the heavy glass door.

"Good morning, Sue. How are you on this lovely day?" He said as he approached the reception desk in the center of the lobby.

"Mr. Necrodopolus. Always a pleasure to see you. What's got you in such a good mood?"

He looked around before leaning in closer. "Can you keep a secret?" he whispered.

She pretended to lock her lips and throw away the imaginary key.

"I'm proposing to Addison tonight!"

The shriek of pure delight that tore through the otherwise quiet lobby was almost deafening. Zed smiled even more.

"Oh, Zed… that's wonderful! What a story! Two of our top all-star recruits… high school sweethearts… getting married! Oh, the school paper is going to love it!"

Zed let out a small laugh. "Let's tell the parents before the press."

"Of course! My lips are sealed." She leaned over her desk closer to him. "But I want all the details later! I love a good love story!"

"I'll keep that in mind." He glanced down to his watch, checking the time. "Is Mr. Winters back in his office yet?"

Sue smiled. "He sure is, with a very large pizza coincidentally..."

"Yes!"

"Enjoy your lunch meeting… do you remember where his office is?"

"Elevator on the right up to the fourth floor, take a left, and it's the third door on the right?"

"You've got it," she smiled up to him. "Oh, and Zed… Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Sue!"

As he waited for the elevator he started to hum a familiar tune. The moment he stepped into the elevator he started to sing. "You and me side by side… Out in the broad daylight… If they laugh, we'll say...We're gonna be someday..."

He stepped off the elevator a few moments later, still singing as he walked to Stanley's office. "We're gonna be someday..." he raised his hand and knocked.

"Come in..."

.

* * *

Their meeting was technically supposed to be to discuss the upcoming commitment press conference at Seabrook High, but neither of them had even mentioned it, or the other four students expected to participate. Instead, the two men gorged themselves on pepperoni and jalapeno pizza and talked sports for most of the time.

"So…" Zed said as he swallowed another bite. "How are Hannah and Kyla doing these days?"

Stanley's smile was contagious. "Perfect… Things are finally settling into a pattern, and… we're all just loving life these days."

"That's awesome. I'm really happy for you guys. I can't believe Kyla is already almost four months old!"

"I know! Time is moving way too fast. They aren't lying when they say 'babies don't keep'."

Zed smiled a little more as he listened to Stanley talk about all the little things Kyla was starting to do. He couldn't believe he'd be experiencing the same things in just a few short months.

"Are you and Addison staying in Shoreline this evening or driving back? Hannah and I would love to have you two over for dinner… and I always love showing off my baby girl," he added with a laugh.

"We'd love to come over for dinner, and we definitely can't wait to meet Kyla… but..." he smiled even wider. "We have some pretty big plans tonight."

"That's quite the smile there, Zed."

"I'm asking her to marry me."

Stanley was completely still for a moment before he jumped to his feet and pulled Zed into a hug. "Congrats!"

Zed couldn't help but smile even more. "Thank you."

They both sat back down. "So… Tell me the plan!"

"Well… We're staying at the Four Seasons downtown… The entire rooftop has been rented out for a private candlelight dinner… I'm thinking a little slow dancing under the stars after dessert and then I'll drop down on one knee and ask." he shrugged, trying to pretend that he hadn't been meticulously planning every detail.

"Wow… can I see the ring?"

"It's back at the hotel in the safe… I had to lock it up… I didn't trust myself not to ask her sooner, and if I had the ring on me I probably would have asked her in the parking lot earlier."

Stanley let out a laugh. "I can't say I'm surprised you're asking her already. You two are something else..." He sighed wistfully. "Enjoy it...I still remember every single second of my proposal to Hannah. I was so nervous…." his cell phone vibrated on his desk. "Speaking of..." he picked it up and answered. "Hey, there pretty lady. I was just talking about you…."

Zed smiled and took another bite of his pizza. He couldn't wait for that night. His phone started vibrating on the desk. He picked it up and looked at it confused for a second. Why would Bucky be calling?

"Hello?….Woah….Bucky… slow down…" his eyes went wide. "What happened?"

* * *

"Hey there, Mr. Assistant Captain!" Addison said as she walked up to her cousin and hugged him. "That whistle looks good on you!"

He hugged her back and smiled. "Thanks, cuz! I never thought I'd be so happy to be just an assistant."

"Listen, since you're mister big shot assistant captain now… I'm not really feeling so hot right now."

"Addie..." Bucky whined. "I can't give you special treatment."

"And I'm not asking for it...much… I just really don't want to stunt today."

"Addison..."

She gave him her biggest puppy dog eyes and stuck out her bottom lip. "Please, Bucky? I'd feel terrible if I threw up on someone."

With an exaggerated eye roll, he finally gave in. "Fine… you're lucky you already have a spot on the team."

She threw her arms around him. "Thank you!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… you know you should go see a doctor. You've been sick off and on since Hawaii."

She rolled her eyes. "I will."

"Good… now go get in line with everyone else. If you're not stunting, I expect you to do everything else even better."

She snapped a salute and ran off towards the other incoming freshman at the other end of the gym. She had just dropped her cheer bag down next to the bleachers when she heard her name being called.

"Addison? Is that you?"

She turned around to see a stocky blonde standing behind her. She tried to place where she knew him from, but she couldn't.

"I'm sorry… do I..."

He gave her a shy smile. "Andrew… from Valley Range..." he offered to try to jog her memory. "We met at Nationals… I congratulated you on stage… We talked again at the after-party..."

She was still drawing a blank but went with it anyway. "Oh! Right… Andrew! How have you been?"

His smile widened. "I knew you'd remember!"

"Of course!" she waved off the comment.

"I just wanted to say again… That routine at Nationals was the best cheer routine I have ever seen in my life."

"Awww, thank you. That means a lot. Valley Range did a great job as well. Mallory put together a great routine."

"Thank you. We were hoping for better than fourth...but, it was still a blast."

"That it was," she blushed, as she remembered just how much fun that weekend had been, and of the permanent souvenir that would be arriving in just a few short months.

"Listen, I know this may seem a bit forward, but would you go to dinner with me tonight? Maybe we could even check out one of the bars right off of campus after?"

She snapped out of her thoughts of Zed and they're little zom-bean. "I'm sorry?"

"Dinner...with me… tonight?" he asked again hopefully.

"Oh!… I'm sorry, but I can't. I have plans with my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" he asked skeptically. "If you don't want to go you can just say so. No reason to make up excuses."

"I'm not making up anything. I do have plans with my boyfriend. We drove up together."

"Must be a new thing." He scoffed.

"Not really… We've been together since Freshman year. He was with me in Orlando."

"I didn't see you with a boyfriend… and I'm pretty sure you were flirting with me."

"Well then you obviously weren't paying attention on stage or at the after-party," she snapped. "He's 6'4" with green hair… he's kind

of hard to miss… and trust me I was not flirting with you."

"You're dating a Zombie?"

Another male cheerleader next to them laughed. "Dude… just give it up. This is too painful to watch... You have got to be the only person who doesn't know that she's dating Zed Necrodopolus."

Andrew turned to the other cheerleader. "Who?"

"Zed Necrodopolus… 5-Star football recruit? He got like major media attention when he announced he was committing to SLU at the All-American Game… it was all over ESPN… Dude won the state title like the last four years… Not to mention they're always photographed together at political events for her mom."

Andrew shrugged. "Never heard of him." He turned back to Addison, "What about tomorrow?"

Addison could feel her temper rising. "Andrew… I'm going to say this one time… I am not interested. I'm sorry you thought I was flirting with you at some point during Nationals, but I assure you, I was not. I am head over heels in love with my boyfriend and plan to spend the rest of my life with him. So… please, stop."

He held up his hands in mock surrender. "Fine… message received."

"Thank you," she said as she turned to walk back towards the entrance to where Katie from the Mighty Shrimp squad was just walking in.

"Hate to see you go… but love to watch you walk away..."

That was the final straw. She spun back around to tell him off but was interrupted by the sound of a whistle calling the clinic to a start.

* * *

After lunch, Addison sat on the bleachers as the stunting portion of the day began. The first half had been really fun. She tried not to think about just how much she was going to miss cheering, but she couldn't help it. She had always been a cheerleader. It was part of who she was. She glanced down to her stomach and sighed, hating the overwhelming sense of loss she felt, and the overwhelming sense of guilt she felt for feeling that way. Pregnancy hormones were seriously weird. She shook her head at her internal ramblings. Someday… maybe she could cheer again, but right now, and for the foreseeable future, her little Zom-bean was more important. She smiled thinking about when Zed called her Mommy earlier.

"Addison!" the captain called out. "We need you over here."

Her head snapped up. "Oh, I can't..." she began as Bucky cut her off.

"Rachael, she's not feeling well. I already told her she could sit out."

"I don't care. Without her, we're short one person. Coach Mills said everyone had to participate."

"But she's sick."

"So. If she wants to keep her spot on this team, she's going to participate."

Bucky looked at Addison and shrugged.

Addison stood up and walked over to them. "Can I just walk through the stunts? I really don't want to be thrown around right now."

"Either do the stunts or leave," Rachael said dismissively. "There are a hundred other people who would do whatever it took to get a spot on this squad… and you… you didn't even need to try-out. It was just given to you… I don't care how many times you've won Nationals... You probably couldn't keep up anyway."

Addison's recently developed temper rose. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"Oh, I can keep up. I've worked damn hard to get where I've gotten. No one has given me anything."

"Keep telling yourself that..." Rachael said as she turned and walked off. Bucky was hot on her heels.

"What the hell, Rachael?" he whispered.

"Motivation," she said matter-of-factly.

"There's a time and a place for that kind of motivation. A cheer clinic to find back-ups is not it!"

Rachael stopped in her tracks and stared at him. "My squad, my rules. Do you need a reminder of that again?"

He took a step back and shook his head.

"Good." She picked up the silver whistle around her neck and brought it to her lips.

* * *

Addison rolled her eyes as she saw who she was partnered up with. Of course, it was Andrew.

"Well, if this isn't serendipitous..." he smiled as she walked up to him.

"Look, I'm telling you now… I'm not feeling well, and there is a strong chance I will throw up on you."

His face blanched. "Maybe it's a good thing you didn't agree to dinner."

She forced a smile and got into position.

Twenty minutes later, things were going well. All the fears she had of stunting faded as she let herself enjoy it one last time.

"You seem to be feeling better," Andrew said as he caught her and set her back down to her feet.

"I am..." she smiled as she got back into position for their next stunt.

Andrew lifted her up. "Glad to hear it... So… about dinner then..." he asked, his arm moving as he spoke.

"Andrew! Can you please focus?" she snapped.

"Then say 'Yes'." He laughed.

"Andrew, this isn't funny..." she said just as he launched her in the air.

He caught her easily and smirked up at her as she stared daggers down to him.

"Again!" Rachael called out, blowing her captains whistle.

Addison rolled her eyes but got back into position. He lifted her back up and once again, and once again she was unstable. "Andrew..."

"One word, Addison..." he tossed her up again, but this time he didn't adjust enough for his unbalanced toss, miscalculating exactly how she would come down until it was too late.

A sickening crack echoed through the gym, followed by a blood-curdling scream.

"Shit..." Bucky cursed as he took off running towards her.

* * *

Zed's face went even paler than normal. "Addison….Accident...Ambulance." He knew Bucky was saying more, but he couldn't process any other words.

"Zed..." Stanley asked hesitantly.

"I'm on way over now, Bucky!" he grabbed his keys off of Stanley's desk and stood up. "There was an accident over at the cheer clinic. All I know is that Addison is hurt and they've called an ambulance."

"Hanns, I've got to go..." he hung up the phone abruptly and stood up. "We can take the golf cart. It's faster than walking."

"Unless that golf cart is a V8, we're taking my car!" Zed shouted over his shoulder as they ran out of the office and down the hallway towards the stairs, neither of them wanting to waste any time waiting for the elevator.

The second that they exited the front doors of the administration building, Zed began pressing the unlock button on his key fob. He jumped into the front seat and started the engine, pealing out of the parking spot.

"She wasn't supposed to stunt today!" his Z ring was vibrating on his finger trying to keep up with his adrenaline. "Why would she stunt?!" He sped across campus, ignoring the posted speed limit and stop signs.

"Zed, it's going to be okay..."

He pulled across the entrance of the athletic complex and threw open his door, not bothering to turn the car off. He ran through the building as fast as he could, not stopping until he reached the cheer gym. There was a crowd formed at the other end.

"Shh… the ambulance is on its way, I promise," Bucky said trying to keep Addison calm. "Shhhh...I've got you..."

"I need Zed!" she cried out. Her whole body was shaking.

Zed pushed his way through the crowd. Nothing could have prepared him for the sight in front of him. The noise around him disappeared and deafening silence rang through his ears. He had seen his fair share of broken bones growing up, but this was Addison. His whole world. His other half. He dropped to his knees next to her, ignoring the pooling blood around her. "I'm here, Gorgeous. I'm right here." He ran his hand down the side of her face as he leaned down to kiss her softly.

"I'm so sorry… I wasn't going to stunt..." she cried.

"It's all my fault..." Bucky said quietly. "I should have tried harder..."

"It's not your fault, B… you didn't drop me."

"DROPPED?! Someone dropped you?!" Zed snarled loudly. His emotions were all over the place. He grabbed for his Z-Ring, ready to rip it off.

"Zed..." Bucky placed a hand over his to stop him. "You're not going to help her if you go offline..."

Andrew swallowed loudly, terrified of the possibility. He carefully took a step back and attempted to blend further into the crowd.

"Mills! What happened?" Stanley asked anxiously as he came running in.

Coach Mills exhaled shakily. "They were stunting, and she wasn't caught… Stanley… it's bad. She's losing a lot of blood."

Stanley pushed his way through the crowd over to where Zed was holding Addison. "Oh, God...That's a bone..." he said looking away quickly.

Zed pulled his shirt over his head and tied it as tightly as he could around her leg. Addison screamed in pain. "I'm so sorry, Beautiful..." he whispered before turning to Stanley "Can you drive stick?!" he asked, his voice edging on panic.

"Yes, but there's an ambulance already en route. We shouldn't move her."

"Oh screw that! I'm taking her now!" He picked Addison up carefully and stood up. She buried her face into his chest and continued to cry.

Stanley nodded, knowing he'd do the same thing if it were Hannah or Kyla.

Zed held her as tight as possible as they ran through the building, trying his best to keep her from being jostled around. Blood dripped from the makeshift tourniquet and ran down his arm. Stanley opened the passenger door for them and helped them into the backseat before running over to the driver's side and getting in. He called Hannah as soon as they turned out of the main campus gates.

"Hey! What happened? Is everything ok?" her voice filled the inside of the car.

"There was an accident at the cheer clinic. We're on our way to the hospital now!"

Hannah gasped. "Wait. We? Why are you..."

"We're in Zed's car. The ambulance still hasn't arrived. We can get there faster."

"Zed's car…" she gasped again. "Addison was hurt?"

"Hanns… her leg is broken. The bone is out and there's a lot of blood."

"Oh my god…" she flipped into doctor mode. "Have you applied pressure? Stabilized her leg? Is she conscious?

"Yes, she's

awake and in a lot of pain. Zed tied his shirt around her leg."

"She's already bleeding through it!" Zed called out.

"Roz! I need you to page Mitchell STAT! His team needs to be in the ambulance bay immediately! Tell them to be prepared for a possible open tibial fracture!" Hannah yelled over to her nurse. "Zed, good quick thinking… just try to apply as much pressure as possible. Dr. Mitchell is the best ortho surgeon in the state. He'll be waiting when you pull up."

Stanley let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"Addison, do you know your blood type? Any allergies?"

"No allergies, and she's OZ negative," Zed answered for her.

"OZ what?"

"It's a zombie soul-mate thing. We're both OZ negative."

Hannah was silent for a moment. "Is O neg compatible?"

"I have no idea."

"Zed… if we need it, would you be willing to donate?"

"Without a doubt."

"Zed..." Addison said hoarsely through her tears. "The baby..."

"Shh… don't worry about the baby right now, we need to get you fixed up..." he said softly, trying his best to keep her calm and not let his own fears show through.

Stanley looked at them in the rearview mirror. "Baby?!"

It was silent for another moment before Hannah's voice filled the car again. "I'll be there with my team as well."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** I know this has taken me FOREVER to update, and I'm so sorry! ****HUGE SCREAMING FROM THE ROOFTOPS SHOUT-OUT to WildFlowerChildGrace for helping me out when I couldn't cut through my own chaotic notes and outline and for continually begging for me to finish this chapter. I couldn't have done it without her! I really hope it doesn't take me as long to finish the next chapter. Also, sorry for yet another cliffy. It was recently pointed out that I do that a lot… **

**If you haven't checked it out already, I have a second story! It's called On The Edge. It's 180 degrees different from this one, but if you're feeling adventurous and love angst… check it out!**

**Speaking of WildFlowerChildGrace… She's got a new one shot out! Ever wanted to know what was going through Addison's head before the big Zombie mash? Give it a read to find out! Also, she's on Instagram now!**


	8. Chapter 68: I'm Just Rooting For Us

**Chapter 68**

**I'M JUST ROOTING FOR US**

"We're almost there, Addie. Hang in there..." Zed whispered soothingly as he ran a hand through her hair. She was extremely pale with a heavy sheen of sweat covering her entire body.

"I love you, Z...", her voice was barely audible even for his heightened sense of hearing.

"I love you, too." He leaned down and kissed her lips softly.

She gave him a weak smile as her eyes began to flutter closed.

"Addie…"

She didn't respond.

"Addison..." Zed said a little louder. He shook her shoulder, but she still did not respond. "ADDISON! Open your eyes, Gorgeous, please!" he begged in a sudden panic. "Stanley!"

"I can see the ambulance entrance!"

Stanley blew through the red light in front of the hospital and pealed through the parking lot before coming to a screeching stop in the ambulance bay.

The passenger door flung open.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion, despite the chaos surrounding them. Zed watched helplessly as Addison was removed from his arms and placed on a stretcher. A team of medical personnel surrounding her and blocking his view. He tried following her. He couldn't hear it, but he knew from the burning in his throat that he was screaming. Suddenly, the world around him came back into sharp focus as he was tackled to the ground.

"Zombie threat restrained! We need Z-Patrol here STAT!"

"ADDISON!" he fought back against them desperately.

"Let him go!" Stanley yelled at the security guards restraining Zed.

"Sir! We need you to back away! We're dealing with a rogue zombie!"

"I'M NOT OFFLINE!… I NEED TO BE WITH HER!…. ADDISON!"

"Please, he's not rouge and he's not offline," Stanley pleaded over Zed's screams. "It was a cheer accident, not an attack!"

"Get off of him now or I will have both of your badges!" A woman yelled from down the hall.

Stanley let out a sigh of relief as Hannah's nurse Roz made her way over to them.

"But, he's rogue!"

Roz walked up to them and lowered her voice to a threatening level. "He is not. He's emotional. That's his girlfriend that we're trying to save in there! And right now, she's in desperate need of a transfusion, and the gentleman you have on the ground is the only one that shares her blood type!"

"But ma'am!"

"LET HIM GO NOW!"

"Not without Z-Patrol approval!"

"That girl is the daughter of the chief of the Z-Patrol and a gubernatorial candidate! If you don't release him, you're going to be dealing with a lot worse than getting fired from this hospital!"

They two security guards swallowed loudly and released him.

Roz knelt to help him to his feet. "Are you alright, Zed?"

"Addison… I need to be with her…" he pleaded through choked sobs.

"She's in good hands, but she's lost a lot of blood. If she doesn't get a transfusion soon..."

"Whatever she needs..."

.

* * *

With a bandage on his arm and a cup of orange juice in his hand, Roz escorted him into the on-call room.

"You may be a little woozy for a little bit, dear."

"I told you, you could have taken more."

She gave him a sympathetic smile as she opened a closet and pulled out a set of scrubs. "Zed, we already took more than we would normally." She handed them over to him.

"But what if it's not enough? What if..." a fresh round of tears started as his panic bubbled back to the surface.

"Hopefully the combination of your OZ and the addition of O negative blood will work, but we can not safely take anymore from you. You've already done all you can do."

He dropped his head and grabbed onto his hair in frustration.

"Zed..."

He looked up to see Stanley standing in the door.

"Bucky and a few of the cheerleaders are in the waiting room whenever you're ready."

"Bucky..." he whispered almost to himself. "Bucky is OZ negative!"

"He is?"

Zed nodded excitedly. "He and my best friend Eliza both are!"

"Would they be willing to donate?" Roz asked hopefully.

"Bucky's her cousin, of course, he would!"

"What about your friend?"

His smile fell. "She's back in Seabrook."

"I'll start with her cousin," Roz said as she quickly rushed out the door, leaving Zed and Stanley alone in the room.

Zed sat down on the couch and dropped his head into his hands. "I'm going to have to call everyone..." he whispered. "What am I supposed to tell them?" He looked over to Stanley. "My whole world is in that operating room… I can't lose them..."

"How far along is she?"

"Almost two months… We found out a few weeks ago..." he whispered, his voice cracking as he spoke. "We haven't even told her parents yet..."

Stanley placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I can't even imagine what you must be going through right now."

They both looked up when the door opened.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," one of the nurses said quietly. "But I have Ms. Donnelly's personal items. I was told I should give them to you."

Zed nodded his head and stood up to take them. "Thank you. Is there any update?"

She shook her head 'no'. "I'll see if I can get you one soon."

"Thank you," he whispered, not trusting his voice. He sat back down on the couch next to Stanley and opened the bag. Sitting on top in a small clear container were the earrings he had given her for Christmas, his senior ring on the chain she wore around her neck, and the rose gold plumeria ring he had given to her in Hawaii. He opened the container and picked up the ring.

"This is not how I planned on this coming off today..." his voice cracked as a fresh round of tears fell from his eyes. "I had it all planned out… I knew exactly what I was going to say..." he wiped at his eyes. "I was going to take her hands in mine and start singing our song… and then after I spun her around under my arm like she loves, I was going to drop down on one knee and slide this off..." a sob escaped from his mouth.

"Zed, I know this is scary, but we have to hold on to hope right now."

Zed nodded his head. He took off his own chain and slid the ring onto it before clasping it back around his neck. With a heavy sigh, he stood up and went to change out of his blood-soaked clothes.

* * *

With Stanley managing the growing crowd in the waiting room, Zed stayed behind in the on-call room. He sat on the couch staring at the phone in his hand. He took a deep breath and made the first of what he knew would be many calls.

"Zed?"

"Gloria…" he tried to keep his voice even and calm. "There was an accident at the cheer clinic."

"What happened."

"Addison..." he sniffed back the tears as he tried to get through it. "She was dropped during a stunt and her leg broke..."

"Is she okay? Are you at the hospital?"

"She… she lost a lot of blood on the way over." He could hear her gasp. "She's in surgery now… I donated blood for her, and Bucky's donating now."

The line was quiet for a moment before Gloria's hushed voice spoke again. "What about the baby?"

He couldn't hold the tears back anymore. "We don't know yet."

"Zed… I'll tell Missy and Dale… We'll be there as soon as we can."

"Thank you." He hung the phone up and leaned his head back against the couch. He'd never felt so helpless. With a deep sigh, he picked his phone back up and made the next call.

"Pops..."

* * *

"I swear he dropped her on purpose!" Katie practically yelled as she fought back tears. "All because she wouldn't go on a date with him!"

"WHAT?"

The entire waiting room looked to see Zed walking into the room.

"Zed!" she rushed over and hugged him. "Oh my god! Do you have an update? We haven't heard anything out here!"

He shook his head, trying to control the sudden rage coursing through him. "Who dropped her, Katie?"

She wiped her eyes. "This creep Andrew from Valley Range. He was her stunting partner."

"He'd been trying to get her to go out with him all afternoon," Brad added. "One of the guys from Shoreline High had to step in to get him to back off."

Zed was furious. His Z-ring vibrated as it struggled to keep up. Before he could say anything else, he heard Stanley on the phone.

"Mills! I want a full investigation into an Andrew from Valley Range who was partnered with Addison Donnelly!" He yelled. "There's reason to suspect that it wasn't an accident!" He nodded his head at whatever Coach Mills was saying on the other end. "I expect this to be handled immediately." He hung up the phone and looked over to Zed. "The tapes are being reviewed as we speak. If these claims are true, the appropriate actions will be taken."

"Good luck finding him," Bucky muttered as he walked into the waiting room with his own cup of orange juice and a cookie. "He took off right after Zed showed up."

"I swear I will rip him limb fro..."

Bucky shot him a warning glare. "No, you're going to calm down. My cousin needs you and you're no good to her locked up."

"But he..."

Bucky cut him off again. "I know you're angry and scared, and so am I, but… we need to just..." his voice cracked and tears began to fall. "I didn't know it was that bad… when you left she was..."

Zed pulled him into a hug, not even trying to hold back his own tears.

Stanley stood up and walked over to them. "I promise, I will get to the bottom of this."

* * *

The hands of the clock on the wall slowly ticked by. It had been hours, and still no news. Every time the doors would open, Zed would sit up expectantly, only to be heartbroken.

"You look like hell..." A voice said from behind him. He turned around to see Eliza standing against the wall.

"You don't look so great yourself," Zed countered before walking over and hugging her close. "When did you get here?"

Eliza wiped her eyes. "We just arrived… Bree and Bonz are checking out the gift shop and Pops is parking the car."

He nodded his head. "Thanks for coming."

"Are you kidding? We would have been here sooner if we could. I've never seen Pops drive

so fast... Where's Bucky?"

"He went down to the cafeteria to get coffee."

She softly smiled. "Of course he did… So… Where do I need to go to donate?"

He shrugged his shoulders, trying to keep it together. "I guess we ask the lady at reception?"

She pulled him into a hug. "Hey...It's going to be okay, you hear me?"

He nodded his head and gave her a tight smile. "That's what everyone keeps telling me."

"Well, you need to believe it..." she sighed and hugged him even tighter. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go voluntarily have a needle jabbed into my arm..."

"Thank you, E… I know you hate needles… but they won't let me give anymore. I've asked… repeatedly."

"Z… Addie is family. You don't need to thank me." She stood on her tiptoes and ruffled his hair before walking over to the reception desk.

Zed rolled his head back and sighed, staring at the ceiling searching for answers. He should be on the rooftop of the Four Seasons right now, professing his eternal love and asking her to be his forever...Not in a hospital waiting room waiting to see if the love of his life and their unborn child would make it.

"Son..."

He turned his head to the door. "Pops!" A fresh round of tears fell as they embraced.

"Any news?"

Zed shook his head. "No. I haven't gotten an update in hours."

Zevon nodded, still holding his son close. "Gloria texted a few minutes ago. The Tordjman, Inc. jet just landed. They'll all be here shortly."

Zed nodded against his father's shoulder, sniffling. "What am I supposed to do?"

Zevon slowly rocked him, trying his best to comfort him. He knew what it felt like to lose your other half. It was a pain he would never wish on anyone, especially his own son.

* * *

Thirty minutes later the doors of the waiting room flew open, catching everyone by surprise.

Missy rushed into the room with Dale close behind. "Zed! We got here as soon as we could!" she said running up to him and hugging him. Her usual perfect appearance marred by heavy mascara streaks running down her face.

Kitty and Trevor were through the doors next, followed immediately by Gloria.

As Zed did his best to maintain his composure and fill them in on everything that had happened, with Bucky filling in the cheer parts, Dr. Mitchell and Hannah finally walked into the crowded waiting room.

Zed stood immediately, giving the doctors his undivided attention.

"I'm assuming you're all here for Ms. Donnelly?" Dr. Mitchell said with the trace of a smile on his lips.

They all nodded or voiced the response.

"Well, she's a very lucky girl to have so much support."

"So she's..." Zed rasped out.

"She's going to make a full recovery."

The room burst into cheers and sighs of relief.

"If she hadn't have gotten here as quickly as she did, and if her leg hadn't been wrapped as tightly as it was, she could have lost it, or we could have lost her. She's got a long, painful recovery ahead of her..."

Zed tuned him out as he noticed the expression on Hannah's face. His feet carried him towards her without even thinking. "Hannah?"

She sadly shook her head. "I'm so sorry, Zed," she whispered, pulling him down for a hug.

.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** I feel like I'm apologizing for something every time I write one of these things. With that said, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update yet again. I'm also sorry that this was a comparatively shorter chapter than most. Obviously it was a bit of a heavy chapter to write and I was avoiding it like the plague. Please don't hate me too much. Things might seem bleak right now (and they might get worse) but please keep the faith! **


	9. Chapter 69: Two Lonely Hearts Beat

**Chapter 69**

**TWO LONELY HEARTS BEAT IN THE DARK**

Zed sat alone in the corner of the waiting room staring numbly at his feet. Despite the joyous feelings emanating from everyone else in the room, he couldn't help feel the loss deep in his bones.

"Zed, sweetie! She's okay!" Missy reassured him for the hundredth time since Dr. Mitchell had given them the good news.

He nodded his head and looked up to her, forcing a smile to his face. "I know… I guess I'm still in shock from the whole ordeal."

Missy sat down next to him and hugged him close. "Oh, sweetie… you were so brave. I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough… You saved my little girl!"

"Addison Donnelly?" The nurse called out from the doorway. The entire lobby looked over towards her. "I need the parents."

Missy hugged Zed again and pinched his cheek before standing up and walking over to the nurse with her husband. "We're her parents."

The nurse smiled. "She's in recovery now and should be waking up soon if you'd like to see her."

They both nodded happily and followed her through the secure doors.

As soon as they were through the doors Zevon and Gloria sat down next to Zed. "How are you holding up, son?"

Zed shrugged and focused on the floor again. "I don't know how I feel…. I'm beyond happy and relieved that Addie is okay, but..." he took a shaky breath, "How am I supposed to tell her?"

Zevon pulled on his arm until Zed let himself be pulled into a hug. Huge racking sobs escaped as he cried into his father's shoulder.

* * *

She opened her eyes, blinking. Her mouth and throat were so dry they burned. Even in the darkness, she could see the sterile, off-white walls and bland décor of the hospital room. There was a slow, steady beeping sound coming from somewhere on her left.

She was lying on her back and her muscles ached. She never slept on her back, preferring to be on either her side or stomach. She wanted to roll to one side but didn't have the energy. She had just enough strength to loll her head to one side and notice the IV line going into her arm. Other tubes and wires for monitors were sticking out from under the blanket that was covering her.

She managed to turn her head to the other side to see a small table with a cup of water. She tried to raise her arm to reach it, but she didn't have the strength. Her hand twitched, and she tightened her fingers into a fist, but even that exhausted her.

A noise coming from the front of the room caught her attention, and the door opened to reveal her mother. "Dale! She's already awake!"

They walked over to the side of the bed and reached for her hand. "Addison?"

She licked her lips and tried to answer, but only a whispered croaking sound came out of her mouth. Missy grasped the cup of water and held the straw to her lips. Once she managed to take a couple of painful swallows, she took it away again.

"Can you speak now?" her mother asked softly.

"Yeah..." she managed.

"Shhh… it's okay, sweetheart. I'm going to go get the doctor!" Dale said as he leaned down and gently kissed her forehead.

Her head was a little swimmy. She wanted more water, but at the same time, her stomach seemed upset at the intrusion of the liquid. A few minutes later her father came back into the room followed by a man wearing a lab coat and carrying a clipboard. He sat down in the rolling chair near the bed and came closer to her.

"Addison, I'm Dr. Mitchell. Do you know where you are?"

"Hospital..."

"Good. And do you know how you got here?"

Flashes of images sliced through her brain. "Cheer accident… Zed?… Where's Zed?!"

"Shh… he's in the waiting room, dear," Missy reassured her. "We'll get him back here as soon as possible."

Addison nodded and looked back at the doctor. "I can't move much..."

"That should get better as the remainder of the anesthesia wears off. You suffered some pretty significant trauma...I consider myself lucky to be talking to you at all."

"What's wrong with me?"

"You had a pretty serious tibia fracture. The bone broke through the skin and it also nicked your tibial artery. You lost a lot of blood."

A cold chill ran over her. "Am I going to be able to walk?"

Dr. Mitchell's eyes softened as he smiled. "The surgery was an absolute success."

"So that's a yes?"

He nodded his head. "You'll be in a cast for quite some time, followed by intense physical therapy, but yes… You will have full usage of your leg."

She wanted to ask a more important question, but she knew she couldn't with her parents in the room. "I need Zed."

"I think you should maybe rest a little before any visitors start coming by," he said as he jotted a note down in her chart.

"He's not a visitor! He's my other half! I need to see Zed!" she got out through a sudden onslaught of tears as she tried to sit up.

Missy was instantly by her side, urging her to calm down.

"Mom! I need to see him!"

"Shhh… It's okay, he'll be in here to see you soon enough. Dr. Mitchell is right, though. You need to rest."

"But… but..." she sniffled and laid her head back down onto the pillow. She tried to fight off the exhaustion but her eyelids were heavy. She blinked her eyes a couple of times before losing out to sleep once more.

.

* * *

_Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…_

All she wanted to do was sleep, but the incessant beeping sound was slowly driving her mad. Slowly she started to open her eyes. The room was dark once again, but the unmistakable emerald hue she could see out of the corner of her eye made her smile.

"There's my favorite Zombie..." Addison whispered hoarsely.

Zed lifted his head in surprise. "My favorite cheerleader..." He leaned over and kissed her forehead, careful not to disrupt any of the lines and tubes.

"Where are my mom and dad?"

He smiled and smoothed her hair down. "Let's see, your mother is dealing with campaign stuff with Gloria… she's basically set up shop in the lobby," he said with a soft laugh. "And your dad is meeting with the hospital security staff about their zombie tolerance policies..."

"Did they give you a hard time, handsome?"

He shrugged and gave her a small smile. "Nothing too bad, gorgeous." He sighed and ran his hand down the side of her face. "How are you feeling?"

"Like my leg is broken and I almost died..."

"That seems fair..."

"Z..."

He reluctantly met her eyes, knowing what was coming next, but dreading having to say it out loud.

.

* * *

Missy stood up and stretched. "So give it to me straight… How bad is it going to be?"

Gloria shook her head. "Are you kidding me? I know it's terrible, but having to re-schedule the debate because Addison was having life-saving surgery is actually helping your poll numbers… Not that you needed the boost, but still..."

Missy shook her head and smiled. "Well, if there are no more fires to put out or statements to go over, I'm going to go sit with my daughter."

Gloria nodded and returned her smile. "I'll send you a text if I need you for anything."

"Thank you, Gloria."

As Missy walked through the hall back towards Addison's room she continued to scroll through emails, not paying attention to where she was walking until she collided with something hard.

"Oh! Excuse me. I'm so sorry," the nurse said as she adjusted her cart to clear the walkway. "Are you okay, mam?"

"Entirely my fault," Missy said brushing off. "I was focused on this thing, and not where I was going… actually, I think I may have passed the room."

"The numbers can be a little confusing. Maybe I can help."

"That would be great," Missy said with relief. "I'm looking for my daughter… Addison Donnelly, room 504?"

"Oh! Miss Donnelly, I was just in there… she's on the left side of the hall about seven rooms down."

"Thank you so much. With everything that happened, I just didn't even pay attention to how the rooms were numbered."

"Understandable," the nurse said sympathetically. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

Missy's head snapped back towards her in a sudden panic. "My loss? Oh my god! Addison!" her hand went to her heart as tears filled her eyes.

"No! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you. Your daughter is fine..."

"Oh, thank heavens..."

"...I meant the baby."

* * *

"This is all my fault..." Addison cried as he held her as close as he could.

"No, Gorgeous… It's not, don't say that."

"It is. I knew I shouldn't stunt. But I did. And… and..." she cried harder. "… I hated that I had to give up cheer… I wished that I could stunt, and cheer you on at games, and fly, and… and… I wished I wasn't pregnant!"

"Addie… look at me, Beautiful…." he lifted her chin up so that she was looking at him. "That's perfectly normal. You didn't make this happen… this was an accident."

"That I caused!"

"This isn't your fault."

"Yes, it is!"

The door swung open abruptly, slamming into the wall. They both startled and looked over to see Missy standing in the doorway. "Get away from my daughter!"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** I know, I know, super short and a cliff hanger. Not to mention it also took me FOREVER to update. I know I suck. I'm sorry. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take me so long to update, but I'm making no promises. ****Thank you so much for sticking with me and this story!**

**If you haven't checked them out, be sure to go read my other two stories!**

**-On The Edge**

**-All I Want For Christmas**


	10. Chapter 70: Ain't No Sunshine

**Chapter 70**

**AIN'T NO SUNSHINE WHEN SHE'S GONE**

Tuesday

"Zed," Zevon whispered shaking his shoulder. "Son, if you don't get up now, you're going to be late for school."

Zed grumbled and grabbed the edge of the blanket, pulling it over his head.

"Look," Zevon grasped the blanket and pulled it off of him. "I know you're hurting. But you can't just hide in bed. I let you skip yesterday…"

"Pops!" Zed snapped as he sat up and ripped the blanket out of his father's hands. "I've lost EVERYTHING! I think I'm entitled to a few days to grieve!"

"Grieve, yes… But you can't just hide away from everyone and everything! I didn't say anything when you shut me out, or your sister, or even Eliza and Bonzo..." he took a deep breath and rubbed his hands over his face. "And don't think I didn't notice the half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels on the floor!"

"You're one to talk! When Mom died you were drunk for over a month!"

"My other half died! You have no idea what that pain feels like!"

"And I'll never see mine again!"

"But she's alive!"

"And our baby isn't! So yeah, Pops… I was drinking… My mom is dead, My baby is dead, and if I ever attempt to see Addison again, I will be forgotten in the deepest, darkest, depths of containment…or better yet, experimented on… And they'll get away with it! Because the love of my life just had to be the daughter of the Chief of the Z Patrol AND the future Governor!" Zed grabbed the bottle from off the floor and took a swig. "But you're right… I should go to school."

Zevon stood there in shocked silence, not knowing how to respond to his outburst. Without saying a word, he turned around and walked out the door.

A few hours later Zed woke back up with a throbbing headache and a rumbling stomach. He reluctantly got up and grabbed the nearly empty bottle, almost tripping over Milo as he stumbled out of the room and down towards the kitchen.

As he rounded the corner, yawning and stretching, he froze, immediately realizing he was only in his boxers. "Uh… I… sorry, Gloria. I didn't realize anyone was home… I should really go put some clothes on."

She bit back a laugh. "Zed, it's fine… I grew up with four brothers. Besides, I don't think you'd make it back up the steps. So, please just sit."

Zed shook his head and plopped into the seat across the table from her. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"Nope. As of yesterday, I am unemployed..." she took a sip of coffee and looked back up at him. "Missy fired me."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope..." she shook her head and held out her coffee cup. "Care to top me off? No one should drink alone."

Zed smiled and picked up the bottle of Jack.

Wednesday

Zed sat in his car watching as everyone walked into school like they did every day. How could they all carry on as if nothing had changed? His chest tightened as the all too familiar feeling of tears pricked the corners of his eyes. He screwed them shut and inhaled deeply. The pain of loss gripping his heart tightly and refusing to let go. His breath came out in shallow pants. He didn't know how long he sat there for, but when he opened his eyes, everyone was gone.

Thursday

"You can do this… Who's the zombie… I'm the zombie..." He checked his reflection in the review mirror one last time and exhaled. "Here goes nothing..." He grabbed his backpack and flung it over his shoulder as he stepped out of the car.

Twenty-seven paces. That's how long it took before he heard the first whispers. Obviously, some people had seemed to forget that Zombies have excellent hearing. The closer he got to the doors of the school, the more he heard. By the time he got to his locker, he was already regretting his decision to give school a try.

"Zed!"

He turned around to see Morgan waving enthusiastically as she made her way through the crowd over to him. He rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Hey!" she waved again, narrowly avoiding being hit with a locker door as she approached him. She straightened herself out and smiled.

"What do you need Morgan?" he said, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice.

"What I need is a date to prom… And rumor has it, so do you."

"Yeah… I'm not going to prom."

"Oh, don't be silly," she laughed, playfully hitting his shoulder. "Everyone knows you're going to be prom king. You HAVE to go! And since Addis..."

Zed growled, cutting her off. "Don't you dare say her name..."

"Zed, I..."

"I am not going to prom, and even if I were, I wouldn't go with you." He pushed past her and walked straight back to his car.

Friday

"Zed…"

He could feel someone violently shaking his shoulder, but the pounding in his head kept him from opening his eyes.

"Dude… get your ass up."

The voice finally registered through the fog of his hangover. "Murph… I swear if you don't stop shaking me I'm going to puke all over you."

"It's a chance I'm willing to take," Murphy laughed as he grabbed the pillow from under Zed's head and smacked him in the face with it.

"Ztergoge!" He pushed the pillow off and sat up, his eyes still clenched together tightly as his head spun. "Was that necessary?"

"Absolutely."

Zed raised his middle finger as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Welcome back to the world of the living," Murphy teased. "I was worried you were dead."

"Technically I'm undead, so..." Zed stretched his arms high above his head and yawned. "What are you doing here?"

Murphy plopped down on the edge of the small bed and leaned over to pet Milo. "It's called a wellness check, Z-Dog."

"Wellness check?"

"Yeah… There are some pretty wild rumors running rampant around school. And it's not like you've been there all week to set the record straight."

"So you're here to get the gossip?" Zed rolled his eyes and grabbed the bottle of Jack Daniels that had recently become a permanent fixture on his nightstand and took a large swig. He stood up and stumbled over to the metal chair in the corner of his room and slumped down.

"Not at all, Dude. I'm just worried about you… obviously, enough to skip school to check on your ass."

Zed grabbed his guitar and strummed out a chord. "Well, I'm fine."

"Yeah, I can tell by the day drinking… Eleven is a little early, don't you think?"

He shrugged his shoulders and looked down at his guitar.

"Ain't no sunshine when she's gone..."

"Oh damn..." Murphy mumbled.

"It's not warm when she's away

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

And she's always gone too long

Anytime she goes away..."

"Wait… am I to understand that you and Addison really did break up?"

Zed huffed and rolled his eyes. "Something like that...

"Wonder this time where she's gone

Wonder if she's gone to stay

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

And this house just ain't no home

Anytime she goes away

And I know, I know, I know, I know…."

"Dude… Talk to me."

"Her mom banned us from ever seeing each other again."

"What?!"

Zed nodded and grabbed the Jack, taking another swig.

"How the hell… When?"

"In the hospital."

"But Katie said you saved Addison's life, why would her mom flip out?"

Zed belched loudly and started strumming out again.

"3 am and my neighbors hate me

Music blasting, shaking these walls..."

"This is worse than I feared..."

"Like poison coursing through me

So clear my vision is blurred

The haze won't put my mind at ease

I've been sleeping later, I've been breathing stronger

I've been digging deeper but the memories won't stop…

I can't stop thinking 'bout you

I can't get high, I can't get by, I can't get through

I can't stop thinking 'bout you."

"Dude, look...I know I'm not Bonzo or Eliza, or even Bucky for that matter...which by the way, it is super weird that you two are so tight, but whatevs...Point is, we've been friends since the 9th grade. You can talk to me if you want to."

"Everything is just so fucked up right now," he said as he took another long swig from the bottle.

"Woah...I don't think I've ever heard you curse in English."

"It's been known to happen occasionally," he started strumming his guitar again.

"I didn't hear you leave

I wonder how am I still here

And I don't want to move a thing

It might change my memory..."

"You have got to be kidding me… Dido? Really?"

"Oh I am what I am

I'll do what I want

But I can't hide

And I won't go, I won't sleep

I can't breathe

Until you're resting here with me

And I won't leave, I can't hide

I cannot be until you're resting here with me..."

"Nope! That's it! Get up!" Murphy said taking the guitar out of his hands and pulling Zed up to his feet.

"What are you..."

"First you're going to go take a shower. You smell worse than a jockstrap after summer practice. And then I'm getting your sorry ass out of here for a while."

"Where are we..."

"Just go Necrodopolus!"

"Fine, fine..." Zed mumbled as he stumbled into the bathroom.

* * *

"Dude? The driving range? Really? Are you trying to get me thrown into containment?"

"Why would you get thrown into containment for coming here?"

"Hello… drunk Zombie. There's a chance of containment no matter where we go."

Murphy laughed and shook his head as he put the car in park. "Ease up, Z-Dog… It's golf. Everyone is drunk. You'll fit right in."

"I hate that nickname so much."

"Don't really care right now, Z-Dog. Now get your ass out of my car and let's go hit some balls."

* * *

"So…," Murphy said as he swung the golf club, missing the ball. "Start talking."

"What's there to say?"

Murphy re-centered himself and lined up to take another swing. "Well, for starters…." he swung again, making contact. He turned towards Zed and motioned for him to go. "You can tell me why Mayor Missy is keeping you two apart. Especially in the middle of a campaign where she's been using your relationship as a talking point."

Zed stood up and grabbed a club. "You are literally the only person other than her parents, Pops, and Gloria that know about this, and I swear if you repeat it..."

Murphy held his hand up. "I swear."

With a heavy sigh, Zed stepped up to the putting square and rounded his shoulders. "Addie was pregnant." He swung, knocking the ball clear across the green.

"Excuse me, Zombie said what?"

He turned back around and sat across from him. "You heard me…" He discreetly wiped at his eyes.

"So, you two are going to have a kid? Man, this is crazy!"

"I said 'was'."

Murphy blinked twice. "Once again… What?"

"She lost it when she fell at the cheer clinic."

"Oh shit… Man, I am so sorry. Is Addison okay?"

"I wouldn't know," he shrugged.

"I'm assuming Missy found out you two have been less than chaste?"

"You could say that..."

"Well, that is a hell of a way to find out your kid is sexually active. Maybe you just need to give it a little time for the shock to wear off."

"She tried to have me arrested in the hospital and again when I tried calling when I heard Addie was released and home. I'm lucky the anti-monster laws aren't back into effect, and that's only because it would look bad for the campaign."

Murphy nodded his head, deep in thought. After a moment of quiet, he looked up and met Zed's eyes again. "You have to fight for her."

"It's not that simple."

"Yes, it is. You can't just lay around and drink yourself numb. You two have fought through so much. You can't stop now. You guys are endgame… No… you're more than that! You're Zeddison! If you two can't make it, what hope do the rest of us have."

"I don't even know if she'd want to see me again."

"Only one way to find out," Murphy whispered motioning towards Zed's cell phone on the table.

"Every time I've called it goes straight to voicemail."

"Well then go see her! Not right this second, because you shouldn't be driving under the influence...but once you're sober!"

"I don't want to get arrested!" Zed threw his head back and ran his hands through his hair in frustration just as his phone began to ring.

Murphy picked it up and smiled. "Dude...you might want to take this."

Zed reached out and took the phone from him, nearly dropping it as Addison's picture filled the screen. He scrambled to answer it. "Addie?! Gorgeous… I'msosorryIloveyousomuchI'msosorry…." He stilled, his back going ram-rod straight. "OH!...Sorry Chief..."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** I know, I know… This chapter was crazy short and it took me forever and a few days to actually post it, AND I ended it on yet another cliff hanger. ****Same thing from the last chapter. I'M SORRY!**

**I had a horrible time trying to write this and not have "Watch Us Shine Zed" turn into "On The Edge Zed." It was a fine fine line to toe. **

**MUSIC USED IN THIS CHAPTER**

**Ain't No Sunshine- Bill Withers **

**I Can't Stop Thinking 'Bout You- Dua Lipa**

**Here With Me- Dido**


	11. Chapter 71: Hold On

**Chapter 71**

**HOLD ON**

Zed looked back nervously as he opened the car door. "This feels like a trap."

"Z-Dog… It's a risk you're going to have to take..." Murphy pushed him out of the car. "I'll circle the block to make sure there aren't swat cars!" He called out as he pulled the door closed.

Zed took a deep breath and rounded his shoulders before walking up the walkway to the front porch. He wiped his sweaty palms on the front of his pants and knocked. It felt like an eternity as he stood there waiting. Finally, he heard footsteps approaching and the sound of the doorknob being turned.

"Oh, thank goodness," Dale sighed as he opened the door wide, inviting him in. "We've been trying for two days. She won't talk to us, she won't eat, she won't even open the door. I have no idea if she's taking her medications or not! If she doesn't open it for you... I'm breaking the door down!"

"Chief, I thought I wasn't allowed to see her?" Zed's voice dropped to almost a whisper, "I don't even know if she wants to talk to me… I know I wasn't supposed to try to reach her… but I still tried to call… It just goes to voicemail."

"Zed. I know you've been calling," he held Addison's phone up. "Why do you think I called you?"

"I don't…."

Dale pulled him into the house and led him to the den. "Missy's not home..." he offered in partial explanation. "Zed..." he let out a heavy sigh and sat down, motioning for him to do the same. "Unlike my wife, I knew you and Addison were…" he waved his hands and gave Zed a pleading look to understand what he was trying to say without actually having to say it.

"You did? How did you..."

"I'm the chief of the Z patrol, Zed. Don't you think I'd have access to every Z-band reading at all times? Don't you think I'd pay particular attention to the readings attached to the young man my daughter is dating and who asked for my blessing to marry her?"

Zed's mouth dropped open several times. "I never… Didn't know…" he swallowed loudly.

Dale shook his head. "Don't worry. I only checked them sporadically to make sure your readings were stable… but still… Let's just say I know you don't spend THAT much time in the gym."

"Chief...I'm...I'm…."

"Zed," he held up his hand to stop him. "I know you love Addison. And… I also know that if it weren't for you… we could have lost her. You saved her… again." He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I… I'm sorry for the way Missy and I responded… I know you've been having a difficult time too."

"How did..."

Dale's shoulders shook with sad silent laughter. "I've never seen a zombie willingly storm into containment before to chew out the Chief and anyone who stood in his way… but your Dad..." He looked up and met his eyes. "He's worried about you."

"I haven't exactly been the easiest person to get along with as of late." He discreetly wiped a tear from his eye as he stood up. "I'll see if I can get her to open the door, Chief."

"Thanks, Zed."

Zed slowly climbed the stairs and walked into Addison's room. So much had changed since the last time he was in there a week ago. That morning had been perfect. They were both so happy and full of hope for the future. He walked to the bathroom door and softly knocked.

"Addie, Gorgeous...It's me...please open the door." He was met with silence. With a loud sigh, he slid down the door and rested his head against it. He softly began to sing.

"You locked yourself in the bathroom  
Lying on the floor when I breakthrough  
I pull you in to feel your heartbeat  
Can you hear me screaming 'please don't leave me'" He sat there patiently waiting for a response. Still, there was nothing.

"Hold on, I still want you  
Come back, I still need you." He lifted his hand and rested it on the door, hoping to feel some sort of connection to her.

"Let me take your hand, I'll make it right  
I swear to love you all my life  
Hold on, I still need you..." He let out a breath and wiped his eyes again.

"I don't wanna let go  
I know I'm not that strong  
I just wanna hear you  
Saying baby, let's go home  
Let's go home  
Yeah, I just wanna take you home..." His voice cracked as his tears fell freely.

"Hold on, I still want you  
Come back, I still need you..."

He sat there resting his head against the door. "Addison, please..." The room was silent for a moment before he heard the unmistakable sound of the lock clicking. He scrambled to his feet and collected himself as best as he could before cautiously turning the doorknob and walking into the en suite. The scene before him broke his heart anew. Addison was curled up on the bathroom rug. Her bright pink cast propped up on the ledge of the bathtub. Wadded up tissues littered the floor. She looked so helpless and broken.

"Addie?" Zed whispered. She slowly lifted her head and looked at him. Her red-rimmed eyes instantly filling with tears.

"No, no, no, no. Shhhhh. Don't cry, Gorgeous. Please don't cry." he dropped to his knees and tried soothing her. He stroked her matted white hair back from her face and held her to his chest while placing kisses sporadically on the top of her head. He wanted to take her pain away and make everything right again. Just like it used to be. Perfect. Exactly what she deserves. But he couldn't. He couldn't take the pain away. It cut them both too deep, a devastation neither of them deserved. This wasn't a problem he could solve or fix or make better. He could only hope she could move on from this, that he could, that they both could together. "Shhhhh," he tried soothing her quiet sobs. He knew it's wasn't working, but it was all he knew to do for her. He held her even tighter. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Gorgeous." His tears falling and mixing with hers.

They sat there on the bathroom floor holding each other. Mourning the loss of the future they briefly glimpsed. They sat there together for hours. Slowly the room darkened as the sun set. Neither of them made any move to get up.

Sometime later, the sound of someone clearing their throat from the doorway, caused them both to look up.

"I brought hot chocolate," Missy said softly. "I think it's time we talked."

Zed carefully helped Addison up, carrying her over to her bed and gently propping her up. Missy handed them both a cup of hot chocolate.

"Zed," Missy whispered. "I am so very sorry for the way I reacted… I was hurt, and scared for my daughter, and..." she stopped and shook her head. "These last few days..." she wiped a tear from her eyes as she looked over to Addison. "I've heard you cry yourself to sleep. I can see the empty look in your eyes...both of you..." She sniffled and wiped another tear away. Taking a deep breath, she reached for her daughter's hand. "I know what you're going through… I never wanted you to have to go through this..." She wiped another tear away. "Before you were born, and well if I'm being completely honest with you before your father and I were married, we found out that we were expecting."

Addison and Zed both let out a small gasp.

"I know," Missy rolled her eyes. "It's so 'un-Seabrook'. Your father and I were so happy when we found out. We would stay up late at night making plans for the future. We were engaged to be married, we had a baby on the way, life was perfect." She let out a humorless laugh. "Then one night I woke up with horrible stomach cramps. By the next morning, I was in the hospital being told that these things happen sometimes, and there was nothing that I could have done. I was devastated. So was your father. I cried for weeks. The same look I see on your faces now is the same look we had."

"Mom, I..."

Missy held up her hand to stop her. "I'm not going to lecture you. You're both 18, and well accidents happen. I'm assuming you were fairly early along?" Addison sadly shook her head, yes. "Addison, Zed, going forward...no more secrets."

"Mom, I...I..." her face crumpled and her tears began to fall again.

"Oh, sweetheart," Missy said through tears. "I love you, I'm so sorry you had to go through this." She hugged Addison tightly, pulling Zed into their hug as well. "I'm sorry I made things worse. Can you ever forgive me?"

Addison looked up, meeting Zed's eyes, silently asking through her tears what she was unable to say.

He nodded his head and smiled through his own tears. "You and me side by side," he whispered, kissing the top of her head.

She looked up to her mom and nodded.

Missy's face broke into a smile. "Thank you. Both of you." She hugged them again. "I know things seem bleak now, but life does go on. You have each other."

"Thank you, Mom," Addison sniffled.

"You're welcome, sweetie. I'm here if you need to talk...either of you," she said kissing the tops of their heads. She sat herself up and smiled sadly at the two teens. "Zed, it's getting late. Why don't you just stay the night."

Addison looked at her mother in shock. No matter how late they were usually up, Zed had never been allowed to spend the night.

"What? What's the worst that could happen?" she said with a smirk. "Now isn't the time, but soon...we'll be having another talk. I'm thinking some new ground rules are in order."

.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** See I updated quicker! I promise doom and gloom is coming to an end! We'll soon be returning to happier times!**

**So… a little movie called Z2 came out last week… not sure if anyone has heard of it… **

**OMG it was fantastic! And all the fresh ideas it's inspiring! **

**Also, they decided to give everyone last names. Should I use those going forward? At least in this story anyway? Let me know!**


	12. Chapter 72: With A Little Help

**Chapter 72**

**WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS**

SATURDAY

Zed woke up from the most peaceful sleep he had had all week. Enveloped in her scent, he slowly opened his eyes as his mouth turned up in a smile. His nose was buried in her hair as Addison laid with her back against his chest. His arm was still woven protectively around her, and her arm was on top of his with her fingers gripping the back of his hand. Zed closed his eyes, inhaling through his nose, and then blew the breath out of his mouth.

Tilting his head a little, he opened his eyes and tried to get a look at her sleeping face. The angle wasn't really right for it, though, so he looked down her body instead. His fingers twitched against her skin where the hem of her t-shirt had ridden up a little, and he tried not to pay too much attention to how her breasts were rising and falling with her slow steady breathing.

_Go away, morning wood…._ He thought to himself.

There was light coming through the window, and he realized it must be pretty late in the morning. He closed his eyes again and settled back against the pillow, content to just listen to her breathe and hold her close to him. Her hair was tickling his nose, but he didn't move.

Eventually, Addison stirred, tickling his nose some more as she shifted and stretched her neck against the pillow. From his angle, he could see her eyes flutter open, and he felt her grip on his hand as she turned around to face him.

Even with her soft white hair scattered all over the place, and her eyes still red and puffy from crying, she was still the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. He just stared at her, taking it all in.

"Hey, Gorgeous."

"Hey, Handsome," she answered. She smiled slightly nuzzling into him farther.

"How are you feeling?"

"Everything and nothing all at the same time," she whispered.

"What do you mean?"

She smiled sadly up at him. "Thankful, relieved, happy, sad, angry, hurt, guilty, numb..."

"That's a whole lot to unpack."

"It's a whole lot to feel…" she took a shaky breath and held him tighter. "When they dragged you out of my hospital room, I thought I'd never get to be with you like this again. So, I'm thankful, relieved, and happy… But..." a single tear fell from her right eye.

Zed wiped it with the pad of his thumb and kissed her gently.

"But I can't stop the ache in my heart," she breathed in a sob as her tears started to fall freely.

"Shhhh..." he whispered holding her. "I know..." his own tears falling and mixing with hers.

"I'm sorry I'm so broken."

"We're all broken...that's how the light gets in."

She wiped away her tears and looked up into his eyes. "That was kind of beautiful."

"I wish I could take credit for it. Hemingway. Hurray for having to write a paper on him for AP English," he shrugged with a small laugh, making her smile. He brushed her hair off her face and leaned in for a soft kiss. "I love you, Addison. I promise we're going to get through this… You and me… side by side."

* * *

SUNDAY

"Knock, knock!" Bucky said cheerily opening Addison's bedroom door.

Addison rolled into Zed's arms, ignoring the intrusion.

"We come baring John Hughes and junk food!" he announced as he, Eliza, Bonzo, and Bree walked in. "I brought them all! Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Pretty in Pink, Top Gun, Cocktail, Say Anything..."

"Bucky..." Zed said, interrupting him. "I don't think she's up for company."

Bucky's face fell. "Oh..."

Eliza rolled her eyes and pushed past her boyfriend. "That's it!" she snapped, making Addison look up. "Look, I know you're upset that you can't cheer. But you can't just shut everyone out! I'm glad you're finally letting Zed back in… and thank god for that… he was a complete mess... But the rest of us have been just as concerned. It's just cheer. You'll be back to it before Summer training in August!" she yelled.

"Eliza!" Zed warned. "Stop, please."

"No! I won't stop. Bucky has been beside himself! Even though it wasn't his fault Addison was dropped, he's still blaming himself!" She yelled. "And it's not like you were any help! You literally shut the door on all of us! Neither of you has returned calls, or texts, or...

Addison sat up a little and glared at her. "You think this is about cheer?" The icy tone in her voice catching everyone off guard.

Eliza took a small step back. "Well, I did until just now..."

"I don't give a shit about Cheer!" she said through gritted teeth, trying to control her tears. "Yeah, I'm out for the rest of the school year, and it sucks, but you have no idea what I'm going through right now!"

"Addie, please calm down," Zed whispered as he gently tucked her hair behind her ear and tightened his grip around her.

"Don't know what you're going through?!" Eliza snapped back. "I shattered my leg in the third grade! And I didn't have the advantage of a first-class medical team to repair it! I didn't get a draggy leg from nowhere you know!"

"Eliza..." Zed warned through a low growl.

Addison broke down into tears. Zed pulled her in closer and kissed the top of her head, trying to comfort her.

Eliza let out a loud sigh. "I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm sorry."

"Addie?" Bree said softly. "We've just been really worried about you all week."

Addison pulled Zed down, whispering into his ear.

"Your call, gorgeous," he said sadly looking into her eyes.

She slowly nodded her head. "Bonzo, can you close the door?"

Bonzo did as he was asked and shut the door before walking back over and draping an arm around Bree. "Whaz goinz on Addzie?" he asked in English, catching her off guard.

"When did you...?"

"Breez been helpzing."

Addison had Zed help her sit up all the way. She grabbed onto his hand for support as she looked around the room at their friends. "A few weeks ago, Z and I..." tears started to fall again. "I'm sorry..." she managed between sobs. "I can't...I'm sorry... Zed, please?"

Zed kissed her softly and wiped her eyes with the pads of his thumbs. "A few weeks ago we found out Addie was pregnant," he said quietly, never taking his eyes off of her. He took a steadying breath, ignoring his own tears that had started to fall. "Between the fall and the surgery to repair her leg..." He closed his eyes, unable to say anything more.

The room was silent. All at once the four of them rushed to the bed and hugged them both.

* * *

MONDAY

"There's my favorite zombie," Addison said softly as Zed walked in the room. She paused her movie and tried to sit up into a more comfortable position.

Zed dropped his backpack with a loud thud by her desk and walked over to the bed. "My favorite cheerleader," he whispered. He gave her a soft kiss and sat down on the bed next to her. "So. What are we watching?" he asked, stealing one of her Twizzlers.

She swatted his hand away from the bag playfully. "Days of Thunder."

He laughed and gave her a look. "Weren't you watching Top Gun when I left this morning? And cocktail when I called at lunch?"

She nodded her head. "Yep."

"Do I need to be jealous of Tom Cruise?"

Rolling her eyes she smiled over at him. "Don't worry, I'd much rather watch you play beach volleyball."

He laughed and kissed her cheek.

"So, how was school?"

He let out a heavy sigh and leaned his head against the headboard, closing his eyes.

"That bad?"

"Better than last week. Eliza, Bonzo, Bree, and Murphy ran a lot of interference for us. And Principal Lee excused us both from any missed assignments from last week. This week is a different story."

"Oh no… is that why your backpack sounded like a ton of bricks hitting the floor?"

He nodded his head. "Yup. I brought home all of your books, too."

"I'm going to be so lost," she sighed.

"Don't worry. Eliza has taken it upon herself to catch you up in Chem, Bree is taking English, and Bonz has History covered. I've got everything else." He rolled his head to the side and looked at her. "I missed you today."

"I missed you too," she smiled.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine as long as I don't try to move or think."

"Then let's not move or think." He kissed her cheek and took the remote, pressing play.

* * *

TUESDAY

Addison cringed as Zed picked her up out of bed.

"I'm sorry, Gorgeous," he apologized, doing his best to keep her leg as still as possible.

"It's fine," she breathed out.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I told you, I don't mind grabbing you a plate and bringing it up. And I know Pops and Gloria won't mind coming upstairs to see you."

She sighed and rested her head against his chest. "I need a change of scenery, please?"

"You know I can't tell you 'no'." He carefully walked down the stairs, angling his body so that he didn't accidentally bang her leg into the wall.

"Addison! What are you..."

She held up a hand to cut her mom off. "I was going stir-crazy up there, and the smell of La Bella's was not helping."

Missy gave her a small smile and nodded. "Let's go see if we can get you comfortable in the dining room then."

"Is my Dad here yet?" Zed asked as he followed Missy through the house towards the dining room.

She shook her head. "No. But he and Gloria should be here any minute..." She stopped walking and turned back to look at them. "If they show." She shrugged her shoulders and continued into the dining room, busying herself with propping up pillows in one of the extra chairs for Addison's leg.

Zed sat her down carefully. "I'm sure they will."

Missy smiled over to him sadly. "I hope so… I said and did some pretty awful things."

"We all could have handled everything differently," Addison said just as the doorbell rang.

Missy looked around nervously making sure everything was in its proper place before smoothing out her pastel blue dress and checking her hair for flyaways as Dale answered the door.

"Mom, relax..." Addison whispered.

Missy gave her a small smile as Dale, Zevon, and Gloria walked into the dining room.

ZzZzZzZzZzZ

The tension was palpable as they all sat around the table, none of them eating. Zed and Addison were having a silent conversation with their eyes, finally, she elbowed him.

"Ow, fine..." he whispered. He looked up to find everyone's eyes on him. "Um… Addie and I just wanted to say that we're sorry." He looked between Missy and Gloria. "We know we're the reason you two had a falling out. And… and it's one of several things we feel terrible about. And..."

"Zed..."

He looked back up to see Gloria holding up her hand.

"Yeah?"

"I've told you, you have nothing to apologize for. We've been through this. Several times. You two were being responsible and accidents happen. And once it did, you both did the mature thing and took ownership and..." she wiped a tear from her eye that had suddenly formed. "I'm so sorry you two are going through all this now." She turned to Missy, trying to control her tears. "And I should have encouraged them to tell you."

Missy dried her now wet eyes as well. "I overreacted… A lot. I'm so sorry for the things I said. I'm sorry I fired you!" She stood up and walked over to Gloria, throwing her arms around her. "You're not just my campaign manager. You're my best friend."

"You're mine too."

"Can you ever forgive me?"

Gloria pulled away and nodded.

"And obviously, I want you back in the office… if you still want the job."

Gloria smiled and nodded again.

"Pheww..." Zed said dramatically as he sat back down. "Now that that is out the way, can we eat?"

Missy and Gloria both laughed.

"Don't think you two are completely off the hook..." Gloria said.

"You've got all of us in the same room... I think we'll be having that 'new rules' conversation tonight," Missy added.

Addison sighed. "Maybe I should have stayed upstairs..."

* * *

WEDNESDAY

"And, I think that's just about all you missed," Bree said as she closed her laptop.

"Yeah, now I just need to read half a novel in half the time!" Addison added sarcastically, throwing her book halfway across the room.

Bree sighed and stood up, retrieving the book and putting it down on Addison's nightstand. "Addie..."

"I'm sorry," Addison said, cutting her off. "I appreciate you coming over and trying to keep me up to speed in English. It's just..." she grabbed a throw pillow from next to her and held it up to her face as she screamed. Her screams quickly turned into sobs.

Bree sat on the bed next to her and pulled the pillow away as she hugged her.

"This is not how I imagined the last few months of my senior year to be!" she said through tears. "I should be pouring over prom plans, and figuring out how I'm going to wear my hair under my cap for graduation and organizing the end of the year cheer banquet, and… and…."

"And you can still do all of that," Bree whispered soothingly.

"But none of it feels important anymore!"

"Addie… I can't even imagine what you're going through right now, but I'm here for you. Always."

"How am I supposed to get past this?"

Bree shrugged and gave her a small sad smile. "One day at a time."

"I hope so… My heart hurts so much..." she cried into her best friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't be unloading on you like this..."

Bree pushed her away just enough so that Addison would look at her. "Are you kidding me? It comes with the best friend title!"

ZzZzZzZzZzZ

"I thought you two were studying?" Zed said as poked his head into the room a few hours later to find Addison and Bree completely enthralled with yet another 80's classic.

Addison didn't look up from the television. "We did."

Zed looked over at the tv and laughed. "Footloose?"

Bree nodded, not looking away from the movie either. "Yeah… it's very important prom research."

"Prom research?"

Addison looked up and sighed. "I'm trying…" she paused and cocked her head to the side. "Why are you still standing in the hallway?"

"Well… while I was home picking up some fresh clothes and spending time with Zo… I decided to bring someone else back here with me..." He opened the door the rest of the way and snapped his fingers.

"Milo!" Addison exclaimed as the small brown fluffy dog ran into the room and jumped onto the bed. She giggled as he covered her face in puppy kisses.

"Don't worry, I asked your parents before I brought him," he said as he dropped his duffle onto the chair in the corner of the room.

"Oh, I've missed you!" she smiled, hugging the puppy close. She looked over to Zed. "Thank you, handsome."

"You're welcome, Gorgeous."

She patted the empty spot on the bed next to her. "Wanna watch with us?"

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to interrupt an impromptu prom committee meeting. Especially one that involves a young Kevin Bacon," he teased as he walked over and sat on the bed, wrapping her and Milo up in a tight hug.

She playfully elbowed him, leaning into his chest. "Speaking of Footloose..." she said with a smile. "How would you feel about wearing a burgundy suit to Prom?"

.

* * *

THURSDAY

"Easy..." Zed said as he held a hand behind Addison protectively.

"I told you, I've got thi… WOAH!"

Zed caught her before she fell over. "And, I think that's pushing it far enough for one afternoon," he said as he scooped her and her new crutches up into his arms.

"I'm never going to get the hang of them if you're constantly picking me up!" she whined.

He shook his head and laughed. "I told you, I'd be more than happy to carry you around until your leg heals."

She rolled her eyes before snuggling onto his shoulder. "You can't carry me everywhere for the next few months," she tried to argue through a yawn.

"Fair enough. But for now, you need to get some sleep. You've pushed yourself far enough for the day. Let's get you back upstairs."

She shook her head, yawning again. "No, Eliza is coming over while you're at work. We should study down here."

He stopped walking and gave her a look.

"What?"

"I know what you're trying to do," he laughed as he started walking towards the stairs once more.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Uh-huh. As soon as I'm gone you're going to convince Eliza to let you walk around on these things again," he said holding up her crutches.

She smiled sleepily. "It was worth a shot."

ZzZzZzZzZzZ

Addison awoke with a start, instinctively reaching for Zed beside her, finding nothing but cold empty sheets. Her chest tightened as her breathing began to come out in short pants.

"Hey," Eliza said as she stood up from the chair in the corner of Addison's room and walked over to the bed. "It's okay."

"Eliza?" she panted trying to catch her breath. "But… Zed… where…"

Eliza smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed next to her "Easy, Addie… Zed's at work."

Relief washed over her. "Oh, thank goodness… just a dream..." her buddy shuttered at the memory.

"That sounded more like a nightmare."

Addison nodded. "Yeah..." she swallowed loudly. "It was like I was back at the hospital..."

"I can't even imagine. It was terrible for us, and we didn't even know what was going on."

"It was awful..." she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "I don't know how Zed can even bear to be in the same house as my parents. Even if they did apologize..."

"Because he loves you. You're his other half. He's completely lost without you."

"I'm the same way without him."

"And I'd be the same way without Bucky… but I'd also be pretty lost without you too…" Eliza took a deep breath. "You're my best girlfriend… I'm sorry I yelled at you the other day. If I had known…"

"E..." Addison said cutting her off. "You don't need to apologize. I'm sorry I yelled, too. I know you were just worried and looking out for Bucky." She leaned over and hugged her. "You know you'll always be my best zom-bae."

Eliza shook with silent laughter as she hugged her back. "You're so cheesy. I love you, Addie."

"I love you too, Eliza."

"Okay, enough girly, mushy, stuff… I'm supposed to be catching you up on what you missed in Chemistry."

Addison sighed. "Oh, fine… what time is it?"

Eliza looked down at her watch. "A little after six."

"Six? E, I'm sorry. Why didn't you wake me up when you got here? You didn't have to watch me sleep for two hours!"

"Yeah, I don't think so. Zed made it clear you needed your sleep after trying to conquer your new crutches earlier… And before you ask, I totally would have helped you more. Which is probably why he took your crutches with him."

Addison shook her head and smiled. "Silly overprotective Zombie..." she sighed and looked up at Eliza. "I think he's more nervous about me going back to school Monday than I am."

"You know he actually tried to get Principal Lee to change his schedule to match yours for the rest of the year?"

"He did not?!"

She nodded and laughed. "When she told him 'no' he switched gears and literally has it planned out so that one of us is with you at all times."

"I swear, he's going to go prematurely gray… Do zombies go gray?"

Eliza laughed. "If any zombie would, it'd be Pops… but so far, it's closer to a mint color."

Addison let out a soft giggle before growing serious once more. "You know you guys don't have to help me every second of the day."

"Of course we know that. But… somehow our ragtag group of friends has become a family… and families stick together."

"Who's being mushy now?"

Eliza rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's hit the books."

* * *

FRIDAY

"Addie..." Zed said as he rushed into her room, quickly closing the door behind him. "Please know that I love you and I tried to talk them out of it. But they brought Lillian's! And you know I can't turn down pizza, and..."

"Z!" she said with a laugh. "What are you..."

The door suddenly swung back open to reveal Bucky, Eliza, Bree, and Bonzo standing in the doorway holding pizza boxes, and Twizzlers. "Surprise!" They all shouted in unison.

"What is all this?" she laughed.

"Well," Bucky said as he bent down to pet Milo. "It's been far too long since we did a Friday night pizza and movie date. And since, you can't go out..." he gestured behind himself. "We brought it in."

Addison had tears in her eyes. "You guys!"

"Oh, don't start with the tears," Eliza quipped. "If you start, then this one is going to start!" she said elbowing Bonzo, who was already wiping at his own eyes.

Bree sat on the bed next to her. "So…what movie do you want to watch?"

Addison looked around the room. Eliza was right the day before. Somehow this unlikely bunch became friends and eventually, family. To anyone else, they wouldn't make sense. But it didn't matter. "Each one of us is a brain… and an athlete… and a basket case… a princess.. and a criminal..." she whispered to herself.

Zed laughed from across the room. "I guess we're watching The Breakfast Club."

* * *

SATURDAY

The sky was still dark, but she'd already been up for hours, unable to sleep. "Zed..." she whispered softly as she ran her fingers through his hair.

He stirred a little, mumbling something unintelligible.

"Zed..." she whispered again, leaning over and biting his ear.

"I'm up!" He sat up with a start, confusion crossing his face as he looked around. He caught her eye in the dark. "Did you just bite me?"

She giggled and nodded her head.

He smirked and pulled her face to his, kissing her hard. "You know what those teeth do to me..." He rested his forehead against hers and took a deep breath. "But you know we can't do anything… Dr. Tara said..."

"I know," she said cutting him off with another kiss. "Can we go for a drive?"

"Addi..."

"Please? I've been up for hours. I need to get out of this house."

He sighed and pulled away, rubbing his hands over his eyes. "Your parents are going to be pissed… but..." he smiled and leaned back over, kissing her softly, "you know I can't tell you 'no'."

A few minutes later Zed was carefully carrying her and her down the stairs and out of the house as quietly as possible. As he opened the door to put her crutches in the backseat he heard her let out a gasp.

"What?" he asked turning to look at her.

"Your seats..." The horror in her voice barely concealed in her whisper.

Zed swallowed loudly. "Oh… those. I should have warned you..."

"Warned me? Zed I ruined your seats!"

He looked around to make sure no one woke up from her outburst. "Addie, it's fine. It's not your fault..." he ran his hands through his hair before pulling her into a hug. "Gorgeous, I don't care about the seats. They'll be fine with a good detail. It was a small price to pay to get you to the hospital as fast as possible."

She sniffled against his shoulder. "I'm still sorry..."

He kissed the top of her head as he held her tight. "Still want to go for a drive? I can understand if you don't."

She nodded her head and pulled back to smile at him. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Everything you did that day."

He took a deep breath as his hand traced down her face. "You don't have to thank me… I was..." he closed his eyes. "I was so scared I was going to lose you..."

She pulled him down to her and kissed him. "I love you… You're never going to lose me."

"I love you too."

"Let's get out of here."

He bit back a laugh and nodded.

ZzZzZzZzZzZ

With the light breeze blowing her white hair, and the early morning light highlighting her features, Zed couldn't take his eyes off of Addison as they sat there watching the sunrise over the bluffs from the hood of his Mustang.

"I can feel you starring..." she whispered.

His chest shook with silent laughter. "Sorry, Gorgeous."

She turned to look at him, grabbing his hand in hers. "Can you help me down? There's something I need to do."

"Anything you need," he smiled as he jumped off the hood and picked her up. "Where to?"

"The edge… by that little patch of wild flowers."

He walked them both over and set her down on the ground before sitting next to her.

She grabbed onto his hand again and looked into his eyes. "I think I'm ready to say goodbye."

"Addi…."

She smiled sadly and shook her head. "Not to you… never you..." She slowly brought their joint hands to her stomach.

"Oh..." he took a deep, steadying breath, trying to control the sudden overwhelming emotions coursing through him. "Are you sure?"

"No..." she whispered. "But if I'm going to..." she stopped and met his eyes again. "If WE are going to get past this…"

He nodded in understanding, giving her a reassuring smile and squeezing her hand.

She looked back out to the water, closing her eyes and letting the early morning sun wash over her. "I'll always wonder who you could have been... Would you have had your Daddy's green hair, and my blue eyes like your Daddy thought you would?..."

Zed smiled sadly. It felt like a lifetime ago that they had that conversation.

"Would you be a cheerleader or play sports?" She rubbed her stomach affectionately as tears started to fall. "I know we would have been young parents... I know life wouldn't always be easy because of that... But I do know that you would have been so loved..." Her tears picked up as she bit back a sob. "I carried you every second of your life, and I will love you every second of mine." She picked up a dandelion bloom next to her and blew, watching as the wind picked up the seeds and carried them over the bluff. "I love you little zom-bean… forever." She dropped her head down to her chest and gave into her grief.

Zed wiped the tears from his own eyes and pulled her into a tight embrace, whispering words of comfort into her hair. There they sat, wrapped in one another's arms, saying goodbye and promising never to forget.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: ****Okay, so I FINALLY managed to get something written in the midst of all this craziness that life has suddenly become. ****Up is down, left is right, and ****I've barley had a minute alone to breathe much less write.**

**I ****REALLY wanted to have the first chapter of my new story CALL TO THE WILD out by the 28****th**** (same day I published OUR YEAR two years ago, and ON THE EDGE last year)...but… I highly doubt that will happen. I'm trying! But we'll see...**


	13. Chapter 73: Forever

**Our Year**

**Watch Us Shine**

**Chapter 73**

**FOREVER**

Addison hobbled into her bedroom, throwing her crutches to the side as she collapsed onto her bed, a feeling of complete exhaustion washing over her. It was Friday, and she had finally made it through her first, long, exhausting week back at school.

"Addie?" Zed whispered softly from the doorway.

She let out a frustrated breath and propped herself up on her elbows. "What?" she snapped, a little more harshly than she meant to.

"I was just going to ask if you needed anything before I head down to the beach for work?"

"I told you... In the car, and downstairs… I'm good. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

She sat herself up a little more. "Yes!"

"Okay, it's just with your parents away for the debate, and..."

"ZED! For the hundredth time, I. AM. FINE. I will be okay. I don't need anything!"

He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "What did I do this time?"

"What are you talking about?"

He walked into the room, closing the door behind him. "Tell me what I did wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Well then why are you upset with me again? It's been the same thing every single day this week! All I've been trying to do is help! And all you've done is snap at me!"

"Because you're acting like nothing happened!" she yelled.

"I thought that's what you wanted!"

"It is!"

"Are you even listening to yourself? I don't know what to do! I've been trying so hard to make things as easy and as normal for you as I possibly can!"

"And by doing that, you're just reminding me that nothing is normal anymore!" She grabbed a pillow from next to her and screamed into it.

"You know what?!" He stopped himself and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "...I think I'll head home after work tonight."

The pillow that she had been holding up to her face dropped as his words hit her like a sledgehammer. He'd been staying with her every night since her father called him. "Zed…" she said quietly, trying to hold back her tears. "Don't..."

He leaned over and placed a quick kiss on the top of her head before walking out the door.

She didn't know how long she sat there, frozen and numb, waiting for him to come back through the door like he always did. He had been so patient with her, especially throughout this last week. She hadn't meant to lash out at him. She hadn't meant to push him away. She could feel her chest start to tighten. She needed to know they were okay. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed his number. She absentmindedly pet Milo as she listened to it ring and then go to voicemail. She closed her eyes and let out a breath. "Maybe he's on a patrol run?" She said to their puppy, setting her phone next to her.

She closed her eyes and tried to breathe. The silence in the room was nearly deafening, making the voice inside her head telling her that she'd finally pushed him away and that he no longer wanted her sound like a scream. She grabbed her phone and called again.

* * *

It was already after ten when Zed pulled up in front of his house. He killed the Mustang's engine and let out a breath as his head dropped down to the steering wheel. Work had sucked. But, considering he had begged his boss to be added back into daily rotations only to then turn right back around and beg to have his hours bumped back down to weekends only, he wasn't really surprised when he was assigned the worst post possible. Add in the argument with Addison and the fact that he had to turn off his phone an hour into his shift because she was calling non-stop, he was completely exhausted in every way. With a heavy sigh, he opened the car door and pulled himself out.

"Hey..."

He looked up across the street to find Eliza sitting in her window. "Hey… I thought you were going out with Bucky tonight?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I was… but he's with Addison… you wanna tell me why your phone's been off all evening?"

"Not really" he called up to her.

"I figured as much…" she said with an eye roll as she went back into her bedroom and closed the window.

Zed shook his head and turned back towards his house. He closed his eyes and took a deep centering breath.

"But we're going to talk anyway," Eliza said, appearing next to him, startling him.

He looked between her and her house several times. "How did you manage to sneak up on me?"

"Because you're distracted," she grabbed his arm and pulled. "Come on."

"Where are we..."

"Don't fight me, just start walking."

He threw his head back in frustration. "Fine..." he sighed, letting her pull him along.

The two of them walked in silence for a while before he couldn't take it any longer. "You want to maybe tell me where we're going?"

"Nowhere… We're just… walking," she shrugged.

"And why?"

"Because my boyfriend is at your girlfriend's house comforting her because you turned off your phone."

He stopped walking and threw his hands into the air. "I just needed a break! She wanted some space, so I gave it to her! Then she started blowing up my phone while I was at work! I don't get it!"

"Zed..." she whispered, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Think about what she's going through right now."

"Don't you think I have been?! That's all I've been doing! I have done everything to make things easier for her. I leave my classes early so that I can help her with her books. I begged Coach to let me back on the baseball team so that I could be at school while she's at cheer so I can bring her home. I've been staying with her every night so that when she wakes up in the middle of the night screaming, I'm there to comfort her!" He wiped the tears away from his eyes. "And all she has done all week is get angrier and angrier at me! I'm trying, I just..." he slumped to the ground and dropped his head into his hands.

Eliza sat down next to him. "Has she asked you to do any of that for her?"

"No, but..."

"But what? She's dealing with a lot. She's badly injured because some creep dropped her after she turned him down, she lost the baby and her hormones are still all over the place as her body adjusts t... Not to mention that she never had time to deal with everything that happened in Hawaii! Hell, Bucky is in therapy over that one," she said with a heavy sigh. "Addison is scared and confused, and angry, and upset… She's grieving, and what she needs is going to change depending on what emotion she's feeling ... Instead of taking charge and doing what you think is best for her, why don't you try letting her lead?"

"But I..."

She held a finger up to his lips, cutting him off. "I wasn't finished..."

He rolled his eyes and motioned for her to continue.

"And you've been through a hell of a lot too. When are you going to give yourself time to grieve?"

"I'm fine."

She arched her brow. "Zed, I have known you since conception. You are not fine."

"I am."

"You're a terrible liar."

"E… I just want to be there for her. To help her."

She shook her head. "I know. You always want to help everyone, especially the ones you love… But, Z..." she discreetly wiped at her own eyes. "You need to take care of yourself as well. How can you help Addie heal if you don't heal as well?"

He shook his head and looked over to her. "I really hate when you're right."

"You'd think you'd be used to it by now," she teased, elbowing him playfully.

His chest shook with silent laughter for a moment before he grew serious once more. "What should I do, E?"

"That… is something only you can figure out… I can only lead you so far. Now if you'll excuse me..." She stood up and cracked her back. "I'm going back home… You coming with or...?" she said nodding her head to her left.

Zed took a look around, finally noticing where they were. He shook his head in disbelief. Of course Eliza would know just what he needed. "Nah… I've got something to do, and then I'm going to go see my girlfriend."

Eliza smiled. "Good… send my boyfriend back my way when you get there."

* * *

It was nearly midnight when Zed pulled up behind Bucky's van parked in front of Addison's house. As he stepped out of the car, he glanced up to her bedroom window. The light was already off. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and leaned against the side of the Mustang. As the phone rang, he could see the small bedside table lamp turn on.

"What's up, man?" Bucky asked as he answered his phone.

"If I'm still wanted, I'm here." He could practically hear Bucky rolling his eyes.

"Dude, she always wants you. You should know that by now..." He could see Bucky start to walk around the room. "I'll be right down," he said as the light went back off.

A minute later, Bucky was walking out of the front door.

"Congrats on getting the cast off," Zed said as Bucky approached the car.

He held up his arm and twisted his wrist a few times. "You have no idea how good it feels to finally have it off."

"So..." They both said in unison.

Zed shook his head and motioned for Bucky to start.

"She's sleeping right now, but...Tonight was rough. I got her calmed down, but it took a long time. I haven't seen her have a panic attack this bad since the wig came off."

"I shouldn't have turned off my phone. I'm sorry..."

"You do not need to apologize," Bucky said nudging him. "I saw her call log. She's my blood, and I would have turned off my phone if she called me that many times."

"Still… With her parents out of town, and her leg… what if something had happened?" He sighed and scrubbed at his face. "I was just being a selfish jerk."

Bucky scoffed and turned towards him. "Hardly. Look… You did the right thing. You needed to take a step back before things escalated. And now that you've both had some time to cool off and think… maybe you two can finally start talking. Like actually talking… even if neither of you wants to. You've got some pretty heavy stuff to deal with." He clapped him on the shoulder. "I'm heading over

to E's. Call if you need me."

"Will do, man. Thank you."

"You're welcome… Night."

They exchanged a quick hug before they both headed in different directions.

The house was silent and dark as he entered. He quietly took the stairs two at a time, anxious to be near Addison again, but not wanting to wake her. As he opened her door, Milo looked up at him from his spot on the bed.

"Shhhh…." he whispered, trying to keep Milo from happy barking and waking Addison up.

"It's fine, I'm still awake…" she said softly. "I was just tired of my cousin."

Zed smiled and walked over to the bed, shooing Milo away as he laid down beside her, wrapping her up in a hug.

She took a deep shaky breath. "How do things keep going wrong? How did we get here?"

"... I had to make it worse, you were already hurt. Don't wanna be another thing on your mind...I wish that I could make it change, instead of making mistakes. I'm trying to hold you up, instead, I'm the one pushing away. I Just wanna understand, but every time I can't and I don't know why..."

"How do people make it look easy? Are they happy or just good at deceiving? I just want a bit of that feeling for myself." She carefully turned over towards him. "I admit I need a little bit of help… I think I should start therapy again."

He placed a soft kiss on the top of her hair. "If that's what you want to do."

"It's not so much a want as it is a need… I need to figure out how to process and cope with everything that's happened without lashing out at you or dissolving into a hysterical mess."

"I'll be by your side… every step of the way..." He held up a finger, correcting himself. "If... you want me to be."

"Of course I do, handsome. I can't do this without you."

"I love you, Gorgeous."

"I love you, too. I'm sorry about this afternoon."

"So am I."

She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed as tight as she could, making him flinch. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he chuckled softly. "Just a little tender."

She pulled back and looked up into his eyes, her own full of question.

He smiled, pushing a stray piece of hair back behind her ear and running his thumb down the side of her face. "You remember last weekend when we went to the bluffs and you said goodbye?"

She nodded her head.

"Well… tonight I said goodbye in my own Zom way," he whispered, pulling away just enough so that he could push his shirt sleeve up onto his shoulder.

"Wait… is that..." she rolled over and turned the lamp on her nightstand on before looking again. Carefully she brought her hand up to the inside of his bicep, lightly tracing the freshly-inked dandelion seed. "...Zempre… Forever?" she asked quietly, looking into his eyes.

He nodded and leaned down to kiss her. "You're my someday… And our little Zom-bean will forever be a part of that. I'll love you both… Forever."

"Forever," she smiled as he wiped away her tears and kissed her once more.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** This goes without saying, but I'm saying it anyway to protect my butt… I don't own the rights to GOTTA FIND WHERE I BELONG from the Z2 soundtrack, I just borrowed the words and re-arranged them a bit. Anyway, hopefully this was the last chapter before we get back to fun, exciting, senior year, stuff! As always your reviews are appreciated! **

**In case you didn't know, I have a few other Zombies stories: On The Edge (not for the faint of heart, just an FYI), Call to the Wild, and Where I Belong.**


	14. Chapter 74: In Your Eyes

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** This chapter is rated a light ****M.**

* * *

**Our Year/ Watch Us Shine**

**Chapter 74**

**IN YOUR EYES**

_**Monday**_

The excitement on campus was palpable as they all exited the car. It was officially May 1st. The start of the last month of high school. Zed dashed around to the passenger side door and helped Addison out, grabbing her backpack as she adjusted her crutches. As they made their way across the senior parking lot Eliza took in a deep breath.

"Freedom is so close I can practically taste it!"

"A few final weeks, jam-packed with enough activities to leave us with a lifetime of memories!" Bree squealed excitedly as she hugged onto Bonzo.

"Memories," Addison sighed. "You mean a few final weeks to jam in about a hundred projects, final exams, AP testing, graduation planning, prom planning..."

"And don't forget Signing Day this Wednesday, and the State Championship game on Friday!" Murphy said as he walked up behind them.

"I still can't believe an ESPN crew is going to be here covering the signing," Addison said in disbelief.

"Yeah, I guess that's what happens when a five-star football recruit is signing his formal commitment letter. The rest of us just get to enjoy the perks!"

Zed shook his head. "I've already committed to SLU. I've signed my scholarship letter and I declared at the All American Game. Why they still want to cover it is beyond me."

"They're hoping for drama," Eliza added with a laugh. "Maybe some other school has lured you away in the last few months."

"I think we've had enough drama," he exhaled.

"You can say that again," Addison mumbled under her breath as she hobbled alongside him.

"I think we've had enough drama..."

She shook her head and smiled. "I love you."

"And I… love… you..." he said, playfully kissing her between each word. "But seriously… It's a new month, it's the end of high school… No more drama."

"I don't think you can plan for tha…." Murphy stopped talking as he took in the glare Zed was giving him.

"There you are!"

They all looked over to find Principal Lee rushing towards them.

She stopped jogging a few feet away from them and caught her breath before straightening her jacket and calmly walked the rest of the way. "You four..." she said motioning to Zed, Addison, Bree, and Murphy. "Trophy room, now!" She nodded her head and turned around, practically sprinting back towards the school.

"Well… she looked a bit frazzled..." Eliza said.

"Garuzga..." Bonzo agreed.

Eliza turned to look at the rest of their group. "You guys have fun with that! Bonzo and I are just going to go on with our typical lazy stroll into school," she laughed.

"Gee, thanks, E." Zed deadpanned. He looked over to Addison. "Need a lift, Gorgeous?"

"Only because we're in a rush… not because I need it!"

He bit back a laugh, it was the same thing she said to him on a daily basis. "Of course, dear." He re-adjusted their backpacks so they were on his front, then lifted her onto his back. "We'll catch you guys, later!" He called out to Eliza and Bonzo as he, Addison, Bree, and Murphy started to quickly walk towards the other side of campus.

As Zed opened the door to the trophy room, someone in a suit jumped up to his feet. "That's perfect!" he called out, making Zed stop mid-way through the door. "Can we maybe get a shot of them walking down the hallway like that?" he asked looking over to the man holding a camera.

"What in the..." Zed started as he took in the scene in front of him. The trophy room was full of lighting equipment, cameras, and a half dozen people he had never seen before.

"Mr. Necrodopolus!" The man in the suit said as he walked up to him. "Thomas, from ESPN. It is a pleasure to meet you!" he said, extending his hand out towards Zed.

Zed shifted Addison slightly to free his hand and shook it. "What..."

"ESPN is doing a segment on Seabrook Athletics!" Principal Lee exclaimed!

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"It's going to be a full thirty-minute special on how Zombie inclusion has extended the Seabrook winning tradition from just cheer to include football, basketball, and baseball! They're going to run it in the open time slot before National Signing Day coverage begins on Wednesday!" Addison explained excitedly to her parents and Gloria as they sat around the dining room table for dinner. She grabbed for the container of spicy pad thai.

"Hey!" Zed exclaimed next to her. "That one was mine!"

Addison stuck her lip out in a pout.

"Oh fine… You know I can't tell you 'no'," he mumbled as he picked up the container of mild pad thai that Addison had ordered.

"I see someone's taste-buds haven't changed back yet," Gloria laughed.

"I'm beginning to think they aren't going to," Addison sighed as she added jalapenos to her plate, offering them to Zed next.

Zed took them and added them into 'his' mild pad thai. "Makes ordering pizza easier though," he shrugged.

"Maybe we should ask Dr. Anderson about that when you have your appointment Thursday," Dale suggested. "Right after we ask him if the growling is ever going to go away… No offense, Zed."

Zed held up his hands. "None taken… she scares me too sometimes."

"I can't help it! My hormones are still all over the place."

Missy just shook her head. "So… what kind of footage did they film?" she asked, changing the topic back to the signing day special.

"Mmm..." Addison swallowed her bite of food. "They filmed a few 'candid' shots of us," she said motioning between her and Zed, "that we only had to shoot and re-shoot about 75 times."

"And they interviewed all the seniors on the football, basketball, and baseball team," Zed added.

"Cheerleaders, too."

"And of course Coach and Principal Lee."

Missy nodded. "What kind of questions did they ask?"

Zed shrugged. "Nothing really different from the interview I did back in January for the game… Mmh, they did interview Addie and me together at one point though."

Gloria sat up a little straighter. "Really?"

Addison nodded. "Yeah, they asked about the difficulties we faced being in a relationship together and how we've stuck together through all the prejudice and helped guide our teams to victory, blah blah blah..."

"They asked about the 'accident'," Zed practically growled before looking over to Dale. "Any word on that?"

"Nothing more we can do," he answered regrettably. "The university revoked his acceptance and he's been banned from all National Collegiate Cheer."

Zed hadn't realized how tense he had become until Addison gently squeezed his leg under the table.

"Anyway..." she said softly, changing the subject again. "Are you all coming to school Wednesday for the signing?"

Missy sighed and set down her cardboard carton of rice. "I wish we could. We have a campaign rally down in Shore Grove that evening."

"But we'll definitely be watching," Dale added, taking her hand from across the table. "And we'll be back in time for your doctor's appointments the next morning."

Addison let out a breath. "Honestly, I don't know why I'm even participating. I don't even know if I'm going to be able to cheer next year."

Zed shook his head. "Addie… you're doing great with PT. Rachael has told you time and time again that she's amazed by how quickly you've progressed so far," he reminded her for the hundredth time.

She nodded sadly. "I know… it's just..." she sighed and pushed her plate away.

"It'll happen," he whispered, leaning over and placing a soft kiss on top of her head. "It's just going to take..."

"Don't say it..." she cut him off with a warning glare.

"...time," he finished with a smile.

She rolled her eyes and tried to hide her own smile. "You're lucky I'm in this cast or you'd be on the receiving end of a low kick."

Zed held in a laugh. It was the same threat she said every time he helped her with extra PT exercises.

Addison let out a loud yawn. "Alright, I think I'm going to call it a night. That PT session after practice was rough."

"Need a lift?" Zed asked with a smile.

She nodded her head. "Only because I'm exhausted. Not because I need it."

His shoulders shook with silent laughter. "Of course, dear."

Addison said her good-nights and allowed Zed to pick her up bridal style. She wanted to prove to everyone that she didn't need constant help, but as she nuzzled into his chest as he carried her up the stairs she had to admit that she secretly loved when he did this for her.

"Thank you, Handsome..." she whispered, looking up into his eyes.

He opened the door to her bedroom and then smiled down at her. "You're welcome, Gorgeous." He knew she loved it when he carried her, even though she pretended she didn't.

She ran her hand down the side of his face and pulled him down for a soft kiss. "Do you want to stay tonight?" she asked hopefully. It had been weeks since he had spent the night with her.

He swallowed loudly and pulled back ever so slightly. "I… uh… I promised... Zoey I'd make her breakfast."

She looked away and tried to hide the hurt look in her eyes. He was a terrible liar. "Okay… I guess I'll see you in the morning then."

"Addie..."

She faked a smile and looked back up to him. "It's fine."

He smiled in return and kissed the top of her head as he set her down on her bed. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"I'll see you in the morning."

She nodded as he turned around and walked out of her room.

As the door closed, he took a second to collect himself. He rested his head against the wall outside of her room and willed his breathing to even out. He missed her. He wanted nothing more than to spend every night with her. But he also hated the fact that every time they were in close proximity, all sorts of thoughts would run through his head. The way her soft skin felt under his fingertips, the way her lips felt against his, how his name sounded when she screamed it out in the…. He quickly shook his head trying to clear it.

After everything they had been through, he needed to prove to her how much she meant to him. Not just the physical side of their relationship. He squared his shoulders and walked back down the stairs, back towards the dining room.

He stood in the doorway and took a breath. "Chief?"

"Yes?" Dale asked looking up from the table.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

* * *

**_Tuesday_**

Eliza mumbled a string of zombie curses under her breath as she dropped her tray of food down onto the table.

"Dare I ask?" Zed asked with a mouthful of food.

She pretended to gag. "Nineteen years… you'd think I'd be used to how gross you can be." She looked over to Addison sitting next to him. "And you kiss him on the regular?"

Addison shrugged and leaned over to kiss his cheek, "How could I not? He's adorable!" she giggled pinching his cheek, making Eliza roll her eyes.

"So..." Zed said after swallowing his food. "What's wrong?"

"Ask your girlfriend..."

Zed turned to Addison and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, come on, Eliza. It's only one meeting."

"I still don't know why you even need me there!"

"Because, you're setting up the music," Addison responded as if it were the most obvious thing ever.

"Just give me a play-list!"

Bree laughed. "Yeah… about that… Principal Lee is REALLY excited about 'exposing us' to 'her' music'," she said using air quotes. "We tried to get you out of this."

"Should have never agreed to this..." Eliza mumbled. "Why couldn't you have just stuck with PRAWN like every other year!"

Addison bit back a laugh. "Aren't you the one that is always fighting for change? Aren't you the one who complained endlessly about how boring Prom was last year?"

"Yeah… so?"

"So… Now's your chance to help change that!" Addison stated, proud to have made her point so easily.

Eliza sighed and dropped her head dramatically down onto the table. "This is so not what I had in mind..."

"Let me get this straight... all this is over having to go to a prom committee meeting?" Zed asked with another mouth full of food.

Before Eliza could respond, a shriek of excitement sounded out from across the cafeteria. They all looked over to find Bryan from the basketball team standing in front of another senior, Ellie, holding a large bouquet of balloons and a sign that was shaped like the house from 'Up'. They couldn't read what it said, but from the look on Ellie's face, he had just asked her to prom.

Eliza rolled her eyes. "And so it begins..."

Bree sighed wistfully. "I think it's romantic."

"And I think I need to start heading over towards the Cheer Room for the meeting," Addison said as she grabbed her crutches and stood up. "It takes me a little while."

"Need a lift?" Zed asked, standing up and helping her with her backpack.

She shook her head. "No, I'll be okay. Besides, aren't you supposed to be meeting Charlie and Murphy down on the field?"

He looked at his watch. "Damn… yeah, I was already supposed to be there."

Addison rolled her eyes. "What's with you today? You've been scatterbrained all morning."

He shook his head. "It's nothing." He leaned over and kissed her lightly, ignoring the fact that she leaned in to deepen their kiss. "I'll see you after practice."

"Any chance I can lure you into the safe-room during free-period?" she whispered.

Zed swallowed loudly. "Um… I… have… to get in some extra batting practice..."

She huffed out a breath. "Fine. I'll see you after school."

He quickly kissed her cheek and grabbed his backpack before rushing off.

As she watched him jog out the double doors of the cafeteria she tried to fight off the tears that were threatening to spill.

"Zou gazarzk?" Bonzo asked, noticing the change in her demeanor and wanting to make sure she was alright.

Without saying anything, she readjusted her crutches and walked out.

She had made it as far as the landing between the two floors before she needed to take a break. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, trying to catch her breath.

"He always has been a lousy liar."

She opened her eyes to find Eliza standing in front of her. She nodded her head and sighed. "Yeah… I just never thought I'd be on the receiving end of it."

"Wanna talk about it?"

Addison shrugged. "I don't know. Everything else seems fine, it's just..." she looked around to make sure they were alone. "He'll barely even kiss me," she whispered.

"Really?" Eliza asked in disbelief.

She nodded her head. "I don't know if he just doesn't find me attractive anymore or if he doesn't love..."

"Woah, woah, woah!" Eliza exclaimed cutting her off. "I might not know what's going through his head right now, but I promise you, he loves you! You're his other half. That's not something that will just go away. Zombies don't love lightly. You know this."

"Then what else could it be?!" Addison snapped.

"Maybe he's just realizing that he has better options," a voice said from above them.

They both looked up to see Morgan leaning over the rail from the second floor.

A loud snarl tore from Addison's mouth. If she hadn't been so furious, she would have enjoyed the frightened yelp and the look of panic as Morgan hurried off.

Eliza laughed, cutting through the red haze of anger that filled her mind.

"Daaaaaamn! I couldn't have done better myself!"

Addison let out a breath and held a hand up to her now aching head. "I didn't mean to… It just slipped out."

Eliza took her hand. "It's okay. Zombie rage is hard to control. Especially if you're not wearing a Z-band or ring."

"What if my hormones don't go back to normal? How am I supposed to get this under control?"

"We all find our own ways. I found music and tech. Bonzo has art and music. Zed has sports."

"And I can't even cheer right now."

"There are other ways too," Eliza whispered suggestively.

Addison rolled her eyes. "And now our convo has come full circle."

Eliza patted her head. "Hang in there. I'm sure he's just being his usual over-cautious, over-protective self."

"I hope so."

"Come on… We have a prom committee meeting to get to."

"Ugh…"

Eliza gave her a strange look. "Not the reaction I was expecting. That's how I would react. Not you. Isn't planning like your thing?"

She nodded and then shook her head. "Yeah… but Morgan is on the prom committee too. I can barely focus on what we're talking about because the entire time all I can think about is smacking that smug look off of her face."

Eliza let out a small laugh.

"I'm serious! I don't know what it is about her!"

"It's because she wants your other half."

Addison growled low in her chest.

"See!" Eliza said victoriously.

Addison groaned in frustration.

"If it makes you feel better… she didn't show up at school for two days after Z brutally rejected her."

She cracked a smile. "That does make me feel a little better… I still want to rip off her arm and beat her with it though..."

Eliza laughed and hugged her tight. "You know, I've always liked you… But new badass growly Addie might be my new favorite."

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Zed was busy changing after batting practice when he heard her approach. He turned around and shook his head. "I never expected you to visit the boys' locker room," he laughed as he took in the look of disgust on his best friend's face.

"Yeah… can't say I have a desire to ever do it again. You're lucky I love you and your girlfriend."

His playful tone suddenly dropped. "What's wrong with Addie?"

Eliza shrugged. "Nothing… except for the fact that she's questioning is you still love her and find her attractive."

"What?! How could she..." he stopped talking and dropped down onto the bench. "That couldn't be farther from the truth."

"I know, Z…" she sat down next to him. "I don't want details… but when is the last time you expressed those feelings with her."

Zed looked over. "I tell her all the time."

"That's not what I'm asking."

Realization hit him like a sledgehammer. "OH! Well… I… Uh..."

"Not since the accident?" she guessed.

He let out a sigh and nodded. "I can't put her through something like that again."

"She's not as fragile as you seem to think she is."

"I know she's not. But I… I need to show her how much I love her." He sat up a little taller. "Actually, I could use your help..."

* * *

**_Wednesday_**

Cameras flashed. People cheered. And with the brush of a pen, it was official. Seabrook High had become the largest NCAA signing class of the year.

As the crowded room started to clear, Zed took Addison in his arms and hugged her tight. "I know it's a school night, but your parents aren't home tonight, and Principal Lee excused us from homework… I think we should celebrate."

She giggled and leaned against his side. "I like the way you think."

His shoulders shook with silent laughter. "Would you like to go out to dinner tonight?"

"Dinner?" She sighed a little in disappointment. "Sure. You wanna grab Lillian's?"

"No… I think I owe you a proper date," he leaned over and kissed her. Not the typical soft, gentle, sweet kisses she had been getting from him since the accident, but a toe-curling, temperature spiking kiss that left her breathless. "Eliza and Bree are going to help you get ready… I'll pick you up at 6:30, Gorgeous."

ZzZzZzZzZzZ

When 6:30 finally arrived, she was dressed in a curve-hugging light blue silk wrap dress and a low kitten heel on her non-casted foot. Her hair was in loose curls that were hanging down her shoulders and she wore a light dusting of makeup thanks to her best friends. She was watching the clock anxiously, trying to figure out just what her boyfriend was up to.

When the knock sounded at her door a few minutes later she almost jumped. She hobbled over to the door, stopping briefly to check her reflection and calm her nerves. It turned out to be pointless once she opened the door and got a good look at her date.

Zed was literally breathtaking.

He was standing before her wearing a mouth-watering, new light blue suit. It had clearly been tailored to fit his broad shoulders and tall frame.

It took her a moment to find her words, and before she could speak he cut her off.

"Wow..." he breathed. "You look… Gorgeous, there aren't words..."

"That's funny," she laughed softly. "I was going to say the exact same thing about you."

"Here, I brought you these," he nearly whispered.

She looked down to see his hand holding out a beautiful bouquet of pink stargazer lilies.

"Oh, Z. They're beautiful!" she said with a soft blush coloring her cheeks. "Can you help me get a vase out for these?"

"Of course."

As they walked through the house towards the kitchen, Addison stole a glance in his direction. "You know, you didn't need to go through all this trouble. I really would have been fine with pizza."

Zed turned to face her. "You're more than worth it."

She was thankful that he went back to hunting for a vase and missed her dark blush.

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They made polite conversation as they drove through town, both talking about what projects they had due in the next few weeks, and both sneaking longing looks at the other when they had the chance. When they pulled up in front of LaBella's, she let out a gasp.

"What's wrong?" Zed asked, looking over to her as he pulled up to the valet.

"Nothing..." she smiled. "I just wasn't expecting LaBella's."

"I hope this is okay."

"More than okay," she said softly as he helped her out of the car.

He guided her through the restaurant and to one of the private dining rooms in the back.

"Zed!" she exclaimed. "You did not have to do all this!"

He let out a nervous laugh. "I wanted to do something special for you…" he smiled and reached over the table, taking her hand in his. He stroked his thumb across the backs of her knuckles in small circles as he looked deeply into her eyes. His other hand rubbed across the smooth velvet of the ring box in his pocket. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

They talked and laughed throughout the meal, and as they waited for dessert, Zed took her hand in his once more.

"Addison..."

"Yes?"

The way her eyes sparkled in the candlelight nearly took his breath away. He smiled wide and took a deep breath… And then his phone rang.

ZzZzZzZzZzZ

As he walked Addison back up to her house a few hours later he shook his head. "This is not how I imagined tonight going… I'm sorry our evening was interrupted."

"It's fine. I just hope Zoey feels better."

"Yeah..." he sighed. "Hopefully it's just a 24hr bug. She'd be crushed if she couldn't ride over to Valley Range with Bucky and Eliza for the game Friday night. It's all she's been talking about since your cousin suggested it."

She unlocked the door and they walked into the quiet house. "Well, cut short or not, tonight was amazing. Thank you, Handsome."

"You're welcome, Gorgeous."

The silence was deafening as they stared openly at each other's lips. As if pulled together by magnets, their bodies drifted toward each other almost unconsciously. When they were only inches apart, Zed raised his hand slowly and cupped her cheek, as if he were holding the most priceless, fragile treasure in existence.

"Addison," he gasped.

She could feel his hand shaking. "What's wrong?" she whispered, almost against his lips. She could tell he was holding back even the simplest of kisses.

"We've been through so much… it's just… there are just some moments I can't believe that you're really in my arms again… I'm so afraid I'm going to lose you again."

"Zed, you never lost me," she whimpered, "please kiss me!"

Unable to resist her plea, he finally closed the distance, covering her mouth with his own. He had intended for it to be soft and gentle, but when she cried out and shoved her hands into his hair, he went a little mad. A loud snarl tore from his throat as he drove his tongue between her soft lips, instantly tangling it with hers. The silky texture he felt brought so many memories flooding back to him that he was easily overcome with emotion.

His arms wrapped around her waist tightly as he shoved her against the wall, moaning into her mouth when he felt his erection brush against her stomach. Addison whimpered and rubbed herself against him more firmly, causing star-bursts to explode behind his eyes.

"Zed," she panted as she came up for air. "We should take this upstairs..."

She could see the very moment that awareness of his surroundings entered his heated gaze, and suddenly it was his turn to whimper. Dropping his forehead to her shoulder, he took a few deep breaths before slowly pulling away.

"I want to," he choked out, squeezing his eyes shut tightly and pinching the bridge of his nose. "But I promised myself I wouldn't… Not yet."

"What is it you're waiting for?" she asked softly, trying to hide the rejection she felt.

"I need you to know how important you are to me. That I love you, and our relationship isn't just about the physical side of things… I owe you at least that much after everything."

"Zed, I know you love me. And I love you. I'm not looking for penance."

"Addison… but there's something that I'm trying to arrange, something that I hope to do very soon. If we can manage to wait until then, I think you'll finally see."

"That doesn't make any sense," she huffed. "It's not like there's some magical event that will erase everything that happened. We've been through hell and we have to get past that together! How is some grand gesture going to change that?"

"This isn't just about waiting for a grand gesture."

"Then will you try to explain this to me so that I can understand it better? Because the way I see it, you're avoiding spending any time alone with me!"

He opened his mouth to object, but she held her hand up to signal that she wasn't finished.

"Now I'm willing to hear you out and you don't have to spill the big surprise, but I need you to stop leaving me out of decisions that affect both of us." She crossed her arms in front of her and looked up. "It's you and me _side by side_!"

He sighed and dropped his head. "I'm doing it again… aren't I? I'm totally deciding what's best for you."

She nodded her head and smirked. "He finally gets it..."

"I'm sorry," he groaned in embarrassment.

"It's fine. But I do want to try to understand what you're thinking. Why do you think we should wait?"

He took a deep breath, choosing his words carefully. "I guess I'm worried that if we start getting physical again…" he sighed, unable to say what he wanted. "But I get near you and all I can think about is having you again. Feeling your body moving underneath mine..."

"Not helping!" Addison interrupted her breathing suddenly shallow. If Zed kept talking like that she wouldn't be responsible for what she did to him right there in the foyer.

"Sorry. See? I can't even give you an explanation without it turning sexual." He watched the rapid rise and fall of her breasts as she tried to gain her composure, forcing himself to look her in the eye when he spoke again. "This is what I'm talking about... I love you... And I love the chemistry we have together, but I don't want to make the same mistakes again and ruin this. I don't ever want you to have to hurt that much again… I don't want to hurt that much again..."

"You're scared," she whispered.

He looked away and nodded his head.

"Hey..." she said guiding his chin back towards her so he would look at her again. "I'm scared too. But… I love you. I always will. You're my other half."

"And you're mine," he smiled shyly.

"And part of that is our connection. Why should we deny what our bodies are craving?"

He let out a soft laugh. "You're right… but… I need us to take it a little slow… maybe build back up to that?" He looked at her then, deep into her eyes, and there was no mistaking the heat that was radiating from his gaze. "I love you more than my own life… Please, don't ever think I don't want you."

Addison couldn't help herself after that. She simply had to kiss him. Her arms went around his neck and pulled him to her roughly, causing their bodies to crash together at the same time as their lips.

Zed allowed himself to enjoy the surprising embrace for a few moments longer before slowly forcing his traitorous body back away from her. He could feel every muscle scream in protest as he did so, but he knew that he couldn't let his resolve weaken so quickly.

"Addie," he whimpered when he saw the blazing desire in her eyes. "Please tell me you understand." He took an extra step back from her as he waited for her reply, not trusting himself to remain so close.

"Are you saying that we can't even make out?" She sounded out of breath and slightly panicked.

"Oh, we're going to make out," Zed growled. "I plan on making out a lot, don't you worry."

Addison tried to ignore how kiss-swollen his lips were. She felt a strong tug deep down that told her to drag him into the bedroom and show his how silly he was being, but another part of her couldn't deny that he was right. "I guess that's okay then," she smiled, leaning in for a soft kiss.

Zed sighed in relief and hugged her tightly. "Thank you for understanding."

"Well, thank you for making me understand. I appreciate you explaining how you feel. And… I'll do my best to take it slow, but we both know that it's going to be _hard_." To emphasize the word she brushed against the front of him again, his prominent erection dragging across her stomach.

"I know," he groaned almost painfully, forcing himself not to thrust his hips. "All we can do is try."

"Okay then… But for the record, I am ready and willing whenever you are… Now, carry me upstairs so we can cuddle and watch a movie."

He chuckled and kissed her chastely. "Yes, dear."

ZzZzZzZzZzZ

"So romantic..." Addison sighed into Zed's chest as they watched Lloyd Dobler hold up a boombox in 'Say Anything'.

Zed let out a groan. "Really? Honestly, it just feels awkward. I mean, they broke up! Isn't that kind of creepy?"

She shook her head and looked up at him. "No… Not at all. From Lloyd's perspective, he's at the peak of loving this song, and the song is speaking to him so loudly, and he has to take this song to the person that he's thinking about and just listen to it with them, letting the song say what he longs to… And then there she is, finally finding some sort of solace knowing he's there with her again..." She sighed and kissed his cheek. "Like I said, romantic."

Zed looked over to her and blinked several times before smiling and shaking his head. "You and your 80's movies..."

* * *

**_Thursday_**

Addison was holding herself up on both feet with sweat pouring into her eyes and Rachael chanting encouragement at her from one side of the parallel bars. She had been so excited when they switched her into the new cast earlier, but now… for the life of her, she couldn't remember why she begged to start weight-bearing exercises today. Her leg burned. She wanted to quit. She took one step forward.

"There's my favorite cheerleader!"

She looked up and saw Zed at the end of the row of bars. She hadn't heard him come in. He had a big smile on his face and looked so handsome that she just wanted to run the six feet it would take her and throw her arms around him.

"What are you guys doing back here? I thought you weren't starting weight bearing PT for another couple weeks?"

Addison's therapist chuckled. "We weren't going to, but she's way ahead of schedule… She got the all-clear for a walking cast this morning. Dr. Anderson said it may have something to do with her blood type?"

Zed shrugged. "I guess that makes sense… Zombies do heal quicker."

"I can't do this," Addison panted, looking back down to her feet.

"Yes you can, Gorgeous."

She shook her head and focused on taking another step. It felt like she was running a marathon. Sweat dripped into her eyes and her heart pounded in her chest. She stopped and put her weight back on her arms. "No..."

"You're the one that wanted to do this. So we're doing this!" Rachael told her firmly. "Ten more minutes."

"No!" she nearly cried.

"Let me see if I can help..."

Addison looked back up to see Zed sitting on the ground at the far side of the parallel bars and digging for something in his backpack.

Her eyes narrowed as he pulled a red package out. "Are those my Twizzlers?"

Zed opened the packaging and smiled sweetly up to her as he took a bite. "Yup… picked them up for you on my way over. Just like I always do." He couldn't help but laugh as a snarl tore from her mouth.

Her foot almost moved without her asking it to. The burning was still there, but watching him eat her candy sent her into a near-blind rage. Her foot slid slowly over the floor.

"Zom healing, and Zom temper," he laughed. "Not so much weight on your arms," he reminded her.

She scowled and released her death grip on the bars. More sweat in her eyes. More itching and burning in the muscles of her leg. She couldn't ignore the pain. "I'm done."

"Come on, Gorgeous. I know you can. You know you want one." He held up another piece of candy and bit it, moaning as he chewed. "Sooo goood..."

She was fixated on his mouth. She didn't know if she wanted to kiss him or punch him. "You don't play fair!" she seethed as she took another step. She fumbled but grabbed onto the bar and managed not to fall over. Another step and he took another bite.

"Three more steps..." he said with a mouthful of Twizzler. "Then the rest of the bag is yours..."

She closed her eyes for a second and tried to stop panting. Her whole body hurt, but she pushed on anyway.

Left foot.

Right foot.

Lunge.

She grabbed onto Zed as she pushed herself forward one last time, making them both fall onto the mat. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she could hardly breathe, but she did make it to the end of the bars.

"You did it!" Zed boomed as his arms wrapped around her.

She was laughing and crying all at the same time. She kissed him long and hard and then snatched the bag of candy away from him.

* * *

**_Friday_**

The small pizza restaurant packed to the brim with Seabrook High fans erupted in applause as Zed and Murphy stood in the center of one of the checkered tables and hoisted the State Championship trophy into the air.

"SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH!"

"Alright, alright..." Zed smiled, motioning for the crowd to quiet down. "First, we want to thank Valley Pizza for their hospitality tonight. We know we're not the local team, but we appreciate you accommodating this crazy group!"

"As long as you tip well!" The owner called out jokingly from behind the bar.

"Talk to the boosters!" Murphy yelled over to him, earning a laugh from a group of older alumni.

"We also want to thank Valley Range High for playing a great game..."

"But not too great," Murphy added in. "I mean, we did beat them 10 nothing."

Zed held back a laugh as he continued. "This season has definitely had its ups and downs, but the Mighty Shrimp stood strong and never quit! I'm so proud of this team!"

The cheerleaders broke out into a cheer. When they were finished Zed started to speak again.

"After four years of leading this team, it's time for Murph and me to pass the torch… Charlie?"

Charlie, who had been staring at Kacie, looked over to them in complete shock.

"Don't look so surprised, C-Baller!"

Zed rolled his eyes at Murphy's insistence of nicknames. "Get over here Charlie."

Charlie made his way through the crowd. Zed and Murphy gave him a hand up so he was standing between them.

"The Mighty Shrimp Baseball Team is yours, dude! Don't screw up our legacy."

Charlie swallowed loudly and shook their hands as the crowd around them cheered loudly.

"Alright, I think that about covers it… Let's eat!" Zed handed the trophy over to Principal Lee and jumped down from the table. A small blur of green caught his eye just in time for him to hold out his arms and catch her mid-leap. "Ooof, Zo… I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to keep doing that for," he laughed.

"You can still pick me up with no problem," Addison teased as she limped over to him. "I doubt the peanut will be a problem."

Zoey giggled as she hopped down. "Congrats again big bro!"

"Thanks, Zo," he smiled as he hugged her and Addison. "I couldn't have done it without my two favorite cheerleaders."

"Hey! What about me?"

He looked up to see Bucky and Eliza walking over towards them. He laughed and shook his head. "Sorry, B… these two have my heart."

"I see how it is," Bucky teased as he picked Zoey up. "You about ready, pip-squeak?"

"Do we have to?" she pouted. "Why can't we just stay the night like the teams?"

"Oh, no… put the lip away before your brother sees it. We've got Mini-Shrimp practice in the morning. Besides, every hotel in town is booked."

"Oh, fine..." she sighed before telling Zed and Addison goodbye.

"Speaking of hotels," Addison smiled looking up to her boyfriend. "I'm pretty sure I overheard Bree and Bonzo making plans. I may be out of a room."

"You can always stay with me," he whispered, kissing her softly.

"Would that be okay? I don't want you to feel like I'm rushing you, or pressuring you..."

He smiled again and brushed another kiss across her lips. "No pressure. Just because we're taking things slow doesn't mean we can't do anything." He could feel her heart rate pick up. He kissed her again and pulled back. "Come on, Gorgeous. Let's grab some pizza before Murphy eats it all."

ZzZzZzZzZ

A few hours later Zed and Murphy were back in their room at the team hotel watching ESPN when there was a light knock on the door.

Zed sat up and stretched. "I've got it." He walked over to the door and checked the peephole before opening the door and smiling at his beautiful girlfriend. "There's my favorite cheerleader," he whispered.

"My favorite Zombie..." she smiled back up at him.

"You know I would have helped you with those," he said, motioning towards her bags sitting in the hall next to her.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Bonzo brought them down. It was the least he could do for kicking me out of the room."

He laughed and looked over his shoulder. "Murphy..."

"Yeah?" he answered, not looking away from the television.

"Out."

He finally looked up. "Out?"

Zed nodded and opened the door all the way.

Murphy's eyes widened in understanding. "Yup… heading out..." he said standing up. "How long?"

"Grab your bag, dude."

He stopped and looked at Zed. "And where am I supposed to sleep?" he laughed.

"Bonzo was bunking with Darryl..." Addison offered from the doorway.

Murphy sighed. "You both owe me… Making me room with a tuba player..." he mumbled as he gathered his stuff.

"I let you get away with calling me Z-dog on National Television the other day. I'd say we're even."

Murphy chuckled and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Fair point. You two have fun..." he said with a wink as he walked past Addison and towards the elevators.

Zed picked up her bags for her as she walked into the room. He set them down on the desk and turned towards her, hugging her from behind. "So… do you want to watch a movie or…"

She didn't give him a chance to finish. She brought her hands up behind his head, effectively trapping him against her. She leaned back into him, rubbing her bottom against his growing arousal as she pulled his mouth down to her neck.

Between her luscious scent and the pleasure of her grinding back against him, Zed was quickly forgetting why he had suggested they move slow. He parted his lips and left wet kisses along her neck, punctuated by soft nips with his teeth. Her growling in his ear only fueled his desire, causing him to buck his hips against her more fully. He reached his hands around the front of her, sliding them under her shirt and anchoring her with one large hand pressed against the soft skin of her stomach. The other hand had a mind of its own, roaming higher until he was cupping one of her breasts, squeezing it gently when he felt her nipple pebbling under his palm.

She gasped loudly and spun around on her good foot so she was facing him, pressing herself against the front of him as his hands slid down to grip her ass. Their mouths met frantically, each of their tongues fighting as they swallowed each other's moans of need. Zed desperately wanted to touch her everywhere at once, so he lifted her by the backside and sat her down on the edge of the desk.

Positioning himself between her legs, he growled against her lips when she wound her good leg around his waist eagerly. It felt like home to have her wrapped around him again, even through all of their clothes. He suddenly needed her to know just how right it felt to be with her this way again, both physically and emotionally, where he had so badly needed to be. He reached up to hold her face and pulled back so that he could stare into her heavy-lidded eyes.

"I love you, Addison," he whispered.

"I love you too, Zed," she smiled. "Can we please keep kissing this time though?" she panted, glancing between his eyes and his lips.

"Yes, my beautiful girl," he chuckled.

"Oh, thank goodness!" She pulled him back to her lips, igniting a whole new kissing frenzy. Shoving her hands into his hair, she yanked and pulled at it as she sucked on his lips and tongue. He moaned deeply, wondering if his eyes might completely roll back into his head at some point from pleasure overdose.

When Addison need more, she began to lean backward.

Zed pulled back and shook his head.

"What do you mean, no?" she pouted. "You just said..."

He kissed her pouty lips and picked her up, carrying her over to the bed and laying her down. Zed followed happily, climbing onto the bed on his knees as she continued to pull him down on top of her. When he finally settled the full weight of his body on hers she cried out, wrapping her arms and leg around him and holding him tight, as if she were afraid he would pull away at any moment.

He slid her shirt up high enough to expose her white lace bra, and with a hungry growl, he lowered his head and sucked on her swollen peaks through the material. His hands began gripping and squeezing them, and before long he had to yank the material down to taste her sweet skin. The moment the hot wetness of his mouth came in contact with her aching nipples she almost cried in relief, and the intensity of it caused her to buck her hips wildly underneath him.

They both felt it at the same time then, the first full contact of his straining erection against her heated sex. They stopped moving and locked eyes, hers full of questioning and his conflicted. After only a few seconds, he smiled and rocked his hips more fully into her. They both cried out that time, and the frantic way she was clutching at his back only drove him on.

He resumed his position at her breasts, alternating between squeezing, sucking, and licking. Addison began to moan incoherent words and phrases, sinking her fingers into his hair again as they continued to move together, the feel of the clothing creating a new and interesting friction between them. Each new thrust of his hardness against her made her see stars and fireworks when she closed her eyes, and they eventually set up a steady rhythm that kept him rubbing exactly where she needed him.

"You're so beautiful," he moaned against her skin before he kissed it again. "Everything about you feels so perfect..."

"Oh god," she panted, her breath shaking as she felt herself winding tight like a spring, climbing higher and higher and loving every second of it because they were together like this again. "I missed this" she cried out, on the verge of something explosive. "I missed this so much."

"Me too, gorgeous," he moaned out, moving up to look her in the eye, his thrusting becoming more erratic as his release neared. "Me too..." He kissed her deeply, pouring everything he was feeling into it, begging her with his body to feel what was in his heart.

"Oh… oh god, I'm right there," she moaned when their lips broke apart, causing him to speed up his movements and press himself more firmly against her.

"Yes, gorgeous," he gasped between thrusts. There was so much warm, wet heat between their bodies that it felt amazing, and he was barely holding on.

When the tightly coiled spring finally snapped inside her, Addison threw her head back and wailed, her entire body spasming beneath him. The feral beauty of her climax triggered his own, and Zed buried his face in her neck and began rambling so fast that she barely understood him.

"I love you so much! I love you, I love you, I love you..." his hips jerked a few last times before he collapsed, laying his head on her rumpled shirt and still exposed chest.

They lay there together like that for a few minutes in silence, Addison stroking his hair lovingly as he tenderly kissed the spot over her heart.

"Was this okay?" she asked nervously.

He smiled and kissed her softly. "More than okay, Gorgeous."

* * *

**_Saturday_**

Zed had just pulled back up from a patrol run when he spotted Eliza making her way down to his guard station. He killed the four-wheeler's engine and jogged over to her. "Aren't you supposed to be prom shopping with my girlfriend?" he asked as met her halfway.

"Missy told Kitty and now we're all going tomorrow."

"I can tell from the way you said that that you are super excited!" he teased.

She rolled her eyes and continued to walk towards the guard tower. "So, Romeo… speaking of prom… how are you asking Addie this year?"

It was Zed's turn to roll his eyes. "I'm trying to plan out how I'm going to actually propose to her. Do you realize how ridiculous the whole idea of a 'prom proposal' seems right now?"

"Just right now?"

Zed rolled his eyes again. "I didn't even know it was a thing until last year when Bucky put together an entire pep-rally to ask you."

Eliza laughed. "How could I tell him 'no' in front of the entire school?"

"Yeah, well, thanks to him I was left scrambling around last minute and ended up taping a bunch of candy to a poster. She's my girlfriend! It should be a given that we'd be going to prom together!"

"You better step it up, Z..." Eliza said through a laugh as they sat down on the edge of the lookout. "And no chickening out like you did with the real proposal the other night."

Zed glared at her. "I didn't chicken out. Zoey got sick and I had to go pick her up from Zena's."

Eliza shook her head and laughed. "Whatever you say."

He rolled his eyes again. "Anyway… what's Bucky doing this year?"

"If I knew that, do you think we'd be having this conversation?"

"And here I was thinking that you just enjoyed my company."

"I do...I just also want to know what my boyfriend has up his sleeve. I already know what Bonzo is doing."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"He painted this giant banner and is planning on hanging it up in the cheer room. He had it rolled up under his trench coat the other day."

"Trench coat….THAT'S IT, E!"

Eliza gave him a confused look. "What's does Bonz's jacket have to do with your prom proposal?"

Zed gave her a tight hug before he kissed her cheek loudly. "It's a surprise...but she's going to love it!"

* * *

**_Sunday_**

Early the next morning while most of Zombie Town and Seabrook was still asleep, Zed loaded his car and took off towards Addison's house. A few minutes later he pulled in front of the driveway and took a deep breath. When he stepped out, he was wearing one of Bonzo's old brown trench coats and had a large poster board in his hand. He leaned into the car and turned up the stereo as loud as it would go. As the opening chords began to play, Zed held the poster high above his head.

Addison was fighting for a few more minutes of sleep, desperately trying to cling to the dream she was having for just a few minutes more before she had to get up and start her day. She had just rolled over away from the window when she heard the unmistakable sound of Peter Gabrielle's In Your Eyes starting to play. Her quest for more sleep was suddenly forgotten. She threw off her covers and hobbled as quickly as she could towards the window. When she looked outside, a large smile broke out across her face. There, standing in her driveway, was her, oh so hot boyfriend doing his best Lloyd Dobler impersonation. Instead of a boom box, he was holding a large poster over his head that read "_don't SAY ANYTHING but YES...will you go to prom with me?"_

Addison opened the window as wide as it would go. "Yes!" she yelled as she blew Zed a kiss.

Dale chose that moment to walk outside. "What in the world is all the…." he began before he burst into a fit of laughter. "Really, Zed?"

Zed smiled and reached into the car to turn it off. "Sorry for the loud music, Chief."

Dale smiled. "Come on in before the neighbors start coming out to complain... Addie's obviously awake," he said as he turned to wave at his daughter who was half hanging out of her window. "Morning, sweetheart!"

"Morning Daddy!"

As Dale opened the door and motioned for Zed to come in, he whispered, "Wasn't expecting that to say 'Prom'."

Zed shrugged. "I'm still working on the other one."

"Take your time," Dale laughed as Zed dashed up the stairs.

Addison was already opening her door as he reached the top step. He ran the short distance to her and picked her up, crashing his lips down on hers.

"Best prom-posal ever!" she giggled against his lips as he walked them into her room and closed the door behind them.

"That wasn't all of it..." he whispered.

She pulled back and gave him a questioning look.

He smiled and dropped the poster onto her bed so he could pull his phone out of his pocket. He pulled up an email and handed it to her.

She scanned the screen quickly and let out a giggle of excitement. "Really?"

He nodded and kissed her again. "The same room from New Year's."

"Z… I thought you said you wanted to take things slow."

"Prom is three weeks from now… I think we can build back up to it by then, don't you?"

She shook her head and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

He was leaning in for another kiss when the door flew back open.

"I need prom-posal pictures!" Missy exclaimed.

Zed and Addison both laughed and smiled as they turned around to pose for her already waiting camera.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** I was really trying to get this ****two weeks ago, but I ended up re-writing it about a half a dozen times. Better late than never though! Hopefully, the longer chapter made up for the delay!**


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